


Phoning Home

by Tammy151



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Brothers, F/M, Family, Lian Yu, Pre-Episode: s01e21 The Undertaking, Protective Oliver, Shado doesn't die, Slade is a good guy, Sparring, Team as Family, They all get rescued, Torture, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-04-10 04:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 48
Words: 65,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4377704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tammy151/pseuds/Tammy151
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Oliver had talked to Laurel when he phoned her in Season One? What if they were rescued in Oliver's first year on Lian Yu?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Chapter One: 

Author’s note: Set during season one when Slade and Oliver are attempting to take the airstrip and he rings Laurel. 

“Hello,” Laurel says.  
“Laurel, it’s me Oliver. I don’t have a lot of time, but I’m on an island called Lian Yu. It is filled with mercenaries that are trying to kill my friends and me. You have to send someone to save us. Please. I’m sorry about Sara, but please help us,” Oliver was cut off by Slade.  
‘They could be monitoring the calls,” Slade explained.   
“It doesn’t matter, I got through. If this doesn’t go right Laurel will send help. I know she will.” Oliver told him with a hopeful smile.

And indeed it went wrong. Oliver had ran back to get Yao Fei and was captured. Which left Slade to have to go save him. And somehow they ended up with Yao Fei’s daughter, Shado as well. Slade could only hope that the kid was right and help was coming. It may be their only chance at making it out alive. 

At Oliver’s insistence they moved out of the Fuselage and to a cave that was on top of a hill. It was the perfect vantage point for the whole island. And they waited for a plane or a boat to come save them. 

Two weeks later and they were beginning to give up hope. They still trained everyday and Oliver was getting better in that respect, but as every day passed he got more depressed. He was meant to be on watch but was currently staring at his photo of Laurel when Fyer’s men ambushed them. They were being led downhill when Oliver noticed a boat, he quickly made a head movement that Slade noticed and followed the kid’s motions to notice the boat himself. It was the first boat he had seen and it was heading for Lian Yu. Hope surged through him, and then doubt. Even if it was their rescue boat there was a good chance Fyers was going to kill them before they even made shore. 

They were tied to stakes in the middle of camp. Yao Fei was shot in front of them after Fyer’s telling him he had outlived his purpose. Soldiers tore Slade’s and Oliver’s tops off and then began beating them with sticks. Both Slade and Oliver stood silently as they took the beating, Slade due to his training and the fact that he had been beaten like this many times while Fyer’s captive and Oliver due to the fact that his short time on the Island had built his pain tolerance up so high that he was able to take the pain quietly. 

Their hope was for nothing though, as the men who burst into Fyer’s camp were not a rescue party. They all had automatic guns and quickly began disarming and tying everyone up. One soldier tried to speak only to be killed before he got the first word out, Fyers and the others didn’t try to talk after that. They left Oliver, Slade and Shado where they were. Then Anthony Ivo and Sara walked into the clearing, causing Oliver to gape. 

“Sara, you’re alive?” Oliver asked amazed.  
“You know him Sara?” Ivo asked.  
“He was on the boat with me,” Sara replied, looking at Oliver incredulously as well.   
“How did you end up like this?” Ivo said gesturing to the fact that he was tied up and his back full of welts from the beating.   
“I washed up here and the whole place was full of mercenaries that assumed me and my friends were spies. They wouldn’t believe us and they keep trying to torture the information out of us.” Oliver made up hastily, “Slade and Shado were staff on my father’s boat. They washed up with me.”   
Ivo seemed to consider this and then looked at Sara with a raised eyebrow looking for confirmation.   
“I remember Slade was in charge of ropes and stuff on the main deck, I don’t remember seeing Shado but she could have been the new cook Oliver told me about.” Sara said lying also; desperately hoping this didn’t blow up in their faces.   
“Yes, I was the new cook, though I wish now I didn’t take the job,” Shado said with a small sad smile. She was a very believable actor. 

“Untie them,” Ivo ordered. They were quickly let down and gave thanks.   
“I rang Laurel using one of their phones. She’s going to rescue us, we can go home Sara.” Oliver told her.   
“Boss, I found it,” a solider said walking fast towards Ivo with a crate. He opened it and looked closely a smile growing on his face.  
“This is it,” Ivo told Sara. “You have helped me a lot Sara, but now I have this I am going home. You can come with me or stay here and wait for rescue, I do not mind.” Ivo was in a very good mood now he had the Mirakiru. “I will be taking them though, I have more than enough room for them.”  
“For what?” Slade questioned.  
“I experiment,” was all Ivo said. Slade looked at Shado and Oliver who both shrugged. They were in no position to argue. It would be three unarmed against almost 30 armed soldiers.   
“Of course, there is nothing else you need on the Island?” Slade asked.  
“Why?” Ivo questioned.  
“Well if that crate is it, we can go through the camp and make use of the tents until we are rescued. It will be much more comfortable than the cave we were hiding in before.” Shado explained.   
“Of course, take what you want from the camp, our boat is fully equipped. If that is it, we will be leaving now, Sara are you coming?” Ivo asked.  
“I’m going to stay here, thank you for saving me though and keeping me alive.” Sara said. Ivo nodded and gestured to his men. They left with the tied up soldiers, leaving Slade, Oliver, Shado and Sara in the middle of the campground alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: This is the end for Ivo’s and Fyer's involvement. I only used them as a way to get Sara on Lian Yu and Yao Fei to die (it may not have been clear but he died instantly from the gun shot wound). Also there is not going to be an Oliver/Slade/Shado love triangle going on. Slade and Oliver were too focused on Laurel coming to rescue them and training to really focus on Shado enough to develop any romantic feelings, there will be a sibling bond between the four of them though.

Chapter Two 

 

Another two weeks passed with still no sign of rescue. Slade and Shado had pretty much given up hope. They were stuck and no help was coming. They both forced Oliver and Sara to train daily. Oliver was really showing improvement too, now that they weren’t constantly worrying about ambushes by Fyer’s men. While the friendship between Oliver and Slade grew stronger, Sara and Shado also found a kinship. They were comfortably situated in tents now and had a generator that provided electricity. Oliver was working on boosting the signal on the walkie-talkie equipment to send another message since Slade had decided to blow up the airstrip and with it the only working telephone earlier. 

3 months after Oliver had rang Laurel they spotted another boat. This time they grabbed a flare, which they now had a surplus off and lit it while Shado lit a bonfire, one of the many they constructed on various sections of the beach to try and catch the attention of any boats that went past. The boat must have seen them as it continued to get closer. Eventually it stopped and a smaller boat was lowered and was soon speeding towards them. Shado and Sara were holding hands, hoping that this would be it, and Slade had a hand on Oliver’s shoulder giving a small squeeze to show his happiness. Oliver was alternating his gaze either smiling at Slade or watching as the boat continued to come closer. 

And it did. But it wasn’t Laurel that got off the boat; it was Thea with an older man. Thea ran and flew into Oliver’s arms squeezing him with a tight hug. She kept whispering ‘Ollie’, over and over again as a shocked Oliver just held her. He hadn’t seen her in basically a year and it felt so good to be hugging her again. She slowly let go, the man still keeping a respectable distance away from the group. 

“Thea this is Slade and Shado, and you remember Sara?” He introduced his family that he found on Lian Yu.  
“Of course, and hi,” she said to Slade and Shado.   
“Hi, it’s nice to be able to put a face to a name, Speedy,” Slade said with a small smirk.  
“Ollie why did you tell him, that is the worst nickname ever. Oh, this is Walter he was the only one who would help me.” Thea introduced the man who when his name was mentioned walked forward to the group. The four shared a frown at that.  
“It is nice to meet you Walter, what do you mean Thea?” Oliver asked.  
Thea ummed a bit, trying to think of what to say ending up turning to Walter to answer for her.   
“You see, when you called Laurel she made it sound like a prank call and she told everyone about the phone call as if it were a joke. Everyone agreed with her that it was a prank though, except Thea. I was away on a business conference at the time. So Thea went to Queen Consolidated and found a person in the IT department to help her find out if Lian Yu was a real place.” Walter began.  
“Felicity is really nice and helpful, I can’t wait to introduce you to her Oliver. She doesn’t stop talking, like ever. It’s really funny.” Thea told him with a grin.   
“Yes, well with Felicity and Thea working together they soon had pages of information on Lian Yu and information from the Queen’s Gambit location the day the storm hit. They both assure me it is completely legal as it is only borrowing information, they accessed a satellite and presented me with photos of a mercenary filled island, just as you said in the call, when I got back. So with that information, Thea and I got on a boat to attempt to rescue you and your friends.” Walter finished. 

“Laurel thought it was a prank?” Sara asked brokenly and Shado squeezed her hand. Oliver in the mean time was almost suffocating Thea in a hug, while Slade was giving her hair a quick ruffle complimenting the only apparent Queen with brains, this comment got Slade a quick elbow in the gut from Oliver and a giggle from Thea.   
“I knew I remembered you Walter, you worked with my dad right?” Oliver asked suddenly.   
“Yes I did, I now run Queen Consolidated,” Walter began awkwardly. Thea tugged Oliver down and whispered something in his ear. She explained that their mum had married Walter, and that he was now living with them and that he was a good guy if you gave him a chance. He looked shocked for a moment, but as Thea kept whispering he began to smile. When she stopped he stood straight and went over and hugged Walter.   
“Welcome to the family, though I have to warn you. It has suddenly gotten quite a bit bigger.” He said looking at Sara, Shado and Slade. “Slade takes up most of the room though, he may need to go on a diet.” As soon as he said these words the warm smile on Slade’s face turned into his trademark glare, Shado and Sara were laughing and Oliver began running for his life down the beach. Slade took after him, and was closing the gap fast, especially seeing as Oliver was still laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: 

Once Oliver and Slade had returned to the rest of the group with grins on their faces, Walter asked if they were ready to leave.   
Sara and Shado offered to go back to the camp to grab their gear that they had put aside to bring with them. Slade’s weapons and mask, Shado’s bow, Oliver’s hood and several pouches of Yao Fei’s herbs and seeds to grow their own.   
Oliver contemplated silently with himself for a few moments and then decided to ask.   
“I buried Dad up this hill, if you wanted to say goodbye before we left.” He offered, Slade putting a hand on his shoulder to show his support to Oliver.   
Thea and Walter both looked shocked, but with tears streaming down Thea’s face she agreed. The four of them made their way up the hill towards the graves of Robert Queen and Yao Fei. When they reached the graves Thea knelt next to her father’s grave and cried gently touching the crude headstone that Oliver had managed to carve with Slade’s help. Walter stood near but with his head bowed and lips moving silently in prayer. Slade and Oliver bowed their heads too and silently said their goodbyes to their fallen family. Shado and Sara joined them after a while and said their goodbyes, and as one big group they made their way down the hill, onto the boat and left Lian Yu, watching as their purgatory get smaller as they sped towards the large boat Thea and Walter had come on. 

As they stopped and the ladder was lowered, Walter made a gesturing motion and Shado began climbing up onto the boat first. It was when she was halfway up, Slade noticed how stiff and tense Oliver had gotten. He silently cursed himself. Sara had been on Ivo’s boat and had obviously managed to get over her fears there, but this was the first larger boat Oliver had been on since the Gambit. Sara then began climbing up, and if anything Oliver got stiffer and Slade contemplated how to get Oliver on the boat. A small smirk formed as he got an idea. 

“Kid, I’ll make you a deal. I will give you a 15 second head start but if I catch up to you on the ladder you’re going to be doing an extra 100 push ups a day for a week.” Oliver turned to look at Slade with his jaw gaping. Slade merely cocked one eyebrow and gave him his best ‘this is not up for discussion’ look. 

He gently guided Oliver to the ladder with Thea and Walter watching silently. He placed Oliver’s stiff hands on the ladder and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.   
“Ready?” He asked. Oliver gave a stiff nod, steeling himself.   
“One,” Slade began, and Oliver immediately pushed himself up one rung, took a deep breath and then another, and another.   
“Two,” Oliver managed another 4 rungs before Slade said “three.”  
By the count of four, Oliver was almost halfway but then a small gust of wind knocked the ladder to the side slightly and Oliver froze. Slade began shouting his counts calmly hoping that Oliver would respond. At fifteen Slade began climbing the ladder and made his way to where Oliver was after reassuring Walter and Thea he would help Oliver.   
He got as close as he could and then gently began coaxing Oliver to take another step upwards. Oliver merely shook his head, clearly terrified as he relived memories of that night. Slade gently started rubbing circles on Oliver’s back as he had seen Shado do after the kid had woken from a really bad nightmare. It slowly began to work and Oliver slightly relaxed. Slade tried to coax him again and this time Oliver took a step, followed by another and the two of them slowly made their way to the top of the ladder and onto the boat. Walter and Thea quickly followed and a crew member went down to hook the boat up and have it and the contents rose back onto the boat. 

Oliver stayed pretty quiet until they sat down to eat. There was one long table and benches around the edges as seats. He had taken one bite of the stir-fry they were given only to stand up and run to the edge of the boat and vomit. His stomach could not take the sauce the stir-fry was covered in. Slade, Sara and Shado noticed this and gently pushed their plates away, though Slade gave his a long glare to Thea and Walter’s confusion. Oliver slowly walked back and noticed their confused glances towards Slade and he laughed.   
“He glares at anything that doesn’t do what he wants, including logs, tents, rocks, trees, and apparently food.” Oliver explained.   
“Why would you glare at a tree?” Thea asked confused.   
Oliver sat down, “Well it was just Slade and me then, we were running from the mercenaries and I twisted my ankle. As they were catching up, Slade decided the best thing we could do was climb a tree and hope they were idiots and run right past us. So we slowly got up this tree to find that instead of what looked like two healthy big branches below, one was almost completely rotted on the upside. So I had to sit on his lap. We spent 3 hours in that tree, and Slade glared at it the whole time. It was so hard not to laugh after a while, and that just made him glare harder.” Oliver said with a grin that was shared by everyone.   
“He got his revenge too,” Oliver continued and Slade looked at him shocked. “Yep, I noticed that the random tree you choose to chop down for firewood the other week was the same tree. You looked really happy cutting up the rotten branch too.” Slade chuckled and as Oliver sat down next to him he quickly grabbed the kid in a headlock and ruffled his hair causing Oliver to squeak and make halfhearted attempts to push him away. Thea laughed at that.   
“Ollie hates people playing with his hair, he used to spend hours using gel to make it look perfect and most of the time it ended up looking just like that. You should get Slade to do your hair for you now Ollie, it will be quicker.” Thea said wisely.   
This caused Slade to start laughing heavily along with Shado and Sara. Oliver decided the best thing to do after he poked his tongue at Thea was to hide in Slade’s scarf or whatever he liked calling it. This caused them to laugh harder and Thea and Walter to join in. He smiled though, he had his new family and some of his old family here and they were going home together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: If Oliver’s actions seem to silly lets remember what he got up to before the Island (peeing on a cop), there is also a link between PTSD and regression.

Chapter Four: 

 

Walter left them alone while he went to speak with the crew about food, giving Thea time to talk to Shado and Sara. They were all getting along well when Thea turned to Oliver suddenly.   
“Does this mean I have a new sister and brother?” She asked him. Oliver froze for a moment. He sometimes forgot that Thea was only 12 and things were so much more black and white for her. “I mean I know Sara has Detective Lance and Laurel, so does this mean Slade and Shado are living with us?” She clarified.   
“Do you think you would like someone to play with Speedy?” Slade asked her gently. Oliver and Slade had talked about living arrangements when they were waiting to be rescued. Slade agreed to bring Joe and live with Oliver at the Queen Mansion.   
“Really?” Thea asked excited forgetting her dislike of her nickname momentarily.  
“Yes, my son Joe is 6 turning 7, so he is a bit younger but I’m sure you can teach him how to play your games if he doesn’t know.” Slade said with a smile. 

Thea had never looked happier. She ran over and hugged Slade tightly, shocking Slade slightly, but he soon returned the hug. She looked over to Oliver.   
“I was so happy when you called. Mum stopped talking to me once you went missing, she just shut herself off. The staff didn’t know what to do either, Raisa tried, but she had her own family. It was just me alone for so long. Then mum met Walter and she got better, but she still barely talked to me, but Walter tried. I knew you couldn’t have died. You always told me you would be there for me no matter what, but no one believed me, the school was even talking about putting me into counseling but then you rang. I was so happy, but everyone thought it was a lie. Felicity is the only one who believed me and she helped me make Walter believe me too. And now I’ve got you back and Slade and Shado are going to live with us, and Joe is going to come live with us and play with me and Sara will visit. Everything is better now I found you.” Thea had shed a few tears as she told Oliver how her year had been and she found herself squashed in the middle of a Slade and Oliver hug as they both comforted her and reassured her they weren’t going to leave again, they were soon joined by Sara and Shado who also whispered reassurances and this was how Walter found them minutes later. 

That night they had a plain meal of just rice. Thea and Walter dug in but the others looked hesitantly at the food, Oliver decided to take one for the team again and slowly put a spoonful in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed and waited. It stayed down. He grinned, nodded to the others and began to eat his rice.   
“We will have to speak with a doctor about what foods you can eat or maybe a diet specialist. What did you usually eat on the Island?” Walter asked.  
“Bird, fish, the occasional rabbit and once there was that pig, oh and berries.” Slade answered. He had been in charge of food, especially seeing as he was the most efficient at gutting animals.   
“I’m going to eat what you guys eat until your stomachs get better,” Thea announced.   
“You don’t have to do that, we will be fine,” Shado told her.   
“I’m going to support you no matter what, and this gives me an excuse not to eat the really spicy chicken we always have Sunday that I need four glasses of water to eat one wing. Eating plain food will be nice for a change. Maybe it will help me understand what you have been through a bit more.” Thea told them, Slade gave her hair a ruffle followed by a one-arm hug from Oliver as she was sitting between the two.   
“Walter, do you have any bandages and antiseptic cream or liquid?” Shado asked. She needed new supplies, and they had only found the bare minimum at the camp and she needed more to treat the last of the infected whip marks on Oliver and Slade. The herbs had been helping but antiseptic would speed the process up remarkably.   
“Of course, is someone injured?” he asked worried.   
“Slade and Oliver were a few weeks ago by the mercenaries,” Sara decided to answer when the other three fell silent as they remembered that day.   
“I will go get the on board doctor now,” Walter stood and left the room swiftly. 

He soon returned with a slightly elderly man, probably in his sixties who was holding a medical case in his hand.   
“Where are you hurt?” the man asked.   
Slade and Oliver looked at each other and silently took in Thea between them; they didn’t want her to see their scars. She was too young and too innocent.   
“It’s okay, I just want you to get better. It doesn’t matter what you look like, you will always be my brother and so will Slade now, and you’re all safe now because we found you and we’re going home.” Thea told them, Slade gave her a smile as thanks and pulled his keffiyeh off and then his top. There was a small gasp from the doctor as he took in the damage but both Walter and Thea stayed silent to his relief. He gave Oliver a look and he took his shirt off as well. Oliver refused to look at Thea who had got up to give them space, instead focusing on Slade, he understood having scars and the shame that accompanied them. 

The doctor made a quick assessment of both Oliver and Slade, and decided to start with Slade as he had the largest infected wound. He noticed the green paste and looked up.   
“What have you been using to treat the wound?” he asked.   
“My father showed me herbs that could be ground up and made into a paste and a few were growing on the Island so I tried to make do with them.” Shado went on to list the herbs off and the doctor nodded impressed.   
“You may have saved their lives using those, without those herbs this infection would have definitely spread and may have killed them.” The doctor praised Shado who gave a smile in return.   
“See I saved your lives and all you did was whine every time I forced you to sit down so I could apply it,” Shado teased. Slade merely grunted and Oliver blushed slightly. 

“I’m going to have to clean this out first before I apply the antiseptic and bandage it,” the doctor told Slade. Slade grunted his agreement and then looked at Oliver. Oliver nodded and quickly grabbed the keffiyeh wrapping it around Slade’s hands and then grabbing them tightly as he straddled the man so he couldn’t move much. Thea, Walter and the doctor looked at them in confusion.   
“He can lash out when he is pain,” Shado explained quietly. The doctor nodded and went back to grabbing the necessary equipment while Thea and Walter moved to give the two some space.   
The doctor gently began using swabs soaked in water to initially clean the wound, this had Slade gritting his teeth. He then used a mixture of water and an antibacterial cleanser and began cleaning the wound again. This caused him to buck slightly when the doctor did the more infected parts and Oliver tightened his grip. The doctor then grabbed another bottle and began soaking the bandage in it, Oliver realized it must be the antiseptic. He quickly looked at Shado and saw she had noticed too. “Distract him,” she mouthed. And in true pre-island Oliver fashion the only thought for distracting Slade was dumb, but as he had no others he decided to go with it, anything to distract him from the pain he was about to be in.   
He watched as the doctor lined the bandage up and as he went to put it on Oliver licked across Slade’s left cheek over his nose and finished with his right cheek. Slade had hissed when the bandage first made contact but his eyes flew open in shock as the kid licked him. Licked him like a dog. What the hell was he thinking? The kid must have realized how stupid his actions were because he decided to close his eyes and hide in Slade’s neck and he watched the kid’s cheeks turn flaming red in humiliation. It could have something to do with the fact Shado and Sara was losing it laughing and Thea was giggling. 

“I’m not moving until you promise not to kill me,” Oliver whispered. Slade chuckled and winced as the doctor attached tape to hold the bandage on a sore area.   
“What possessed you to lick me?” he asked the kid.   
“I needed to distract you and it was the only thing I could think of, sorry.” Oliver replied.   
“I forgive you,” Slade told him.  
“Really?” Oliver said leaving his hiding spot in Slade’s neck looking hopeful.   
“Yes, and it’s your turn now,” Slade told him with a smirk that promised payback. Oliver gulped but began untying Slade’s hands and got off his lap.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: 

Slade stood so Oliver could sit where he had been, as the kid sat down he offered his hands so Slade could tie them and leant back a bit to give Slade more room to straddle him. Oliver wasn’t as bad as bucking like Slade but he had the habit of wiggling and needed to be kept still.   
Oliver was treated much quicker and whined the whole time and arched, forcing Slade to hold him tightly as the bandage was attached. When it was over Oliver waited for Slade to move, but he didn’t   
“Comfortable?” he asked him. Slade had a contemplative look on his face and suddenly Oliver remembered what he had done to the man, and that Slade loved pay back.   
“Where is the kid ticklish?” Slade asked Thea. Oliver’s jaw dropped as he realized what he meant to do and he began wiggling to try and get the man off of him.   
“His sides, under his chin and his feet,” Thea answered promptly with a grin.  
Slade smirked at Oliver and very slowly began reaching for his sides, hands outstretched. Oliver gave up struggling, and looked pleadingly at Slade but it didn’t work. Soon the man was tickling him and Oliver was laughing uncontrollably. When Slade stopped and got up while he untied Oliver’s hands, Oliver thought for a moment and couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard, causing him to smile.

A member of the crew knocked and poked his head around the door.   
“We are now back in range for video calls Sir,” he told Walter and left.   
“Come on Ollie we have to call mum so she can see you are alive,” Thea got up and held her hand out for Oliver to take. Oliver hesitated for a moment, enough to look at Shado, Sara and Slade who all gave him reassuring looks. He took Thea’s hand and used his spare to grab Slade’s and made a quick head gesture to grab Sara’s, who in turn grabbed Shado’s. Hands linked they followed Thea and Walter. 

The video call was quickly set up and was soon ringing through. When Moira connected and her face became visible, a small tear came to Oliver’s eye. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed his mum until this moment. Moira on the other hand was blinking furiously and then they watched her pinch herself.  
“Moira, we found Oliver and Sara. They are alive. What you are seeing is real.” Walter told her, quickly giving her details about the day including Shado and Slade and visiting Robert’s grave.   
“Mum it is Ollie, I told you he was alive and I found him, and Shado and Slade are going to come live with us. Though you have to tell Raisa that she needs to cook plain food like rice for a while.” Thea said.   
“Why?” Moira asked confused, still trying to take in the fact her son was alive.   
“Slade is on a diet and we are being supportive,” Thea answered. Slade made a noise that could only be described as something between a snort and growl, while Oliver leant around Slade to high five Thea, the others were busy giggling and in Walter’s case chuckling.   
“You can tell me where she is ticklish later kid,” he told Oliver who grinned and nodded much to Thea’s horror.   
“How are you alive?” Moira asked still not processing what was before her eyes.   
“The boat went down and they didn’t, the kid found his way to me after about a month and then I took care of him. We found Shado and Sara later.” Slade explained.   
“The Island was very big,” Sara added quickly giving Slade a look, which he gave a small nod to.   
“We’ll give you some time to adjust mum, and we will call again soon,” Oliver said noticing that she was still in shock, quickly looked at Walter who confirmed it with a nod.   
“I love you,” Oliver told her and Thea and Walter said their goodbyes and then ended the call. 

“Now sleeping arrangements are going to be a bit difficult I’m afraid. With Thea and I taking a room each, there are only three spare rooms. This was the largest boat I could find on the short notice I had I’m afraid.” Walter apologized.  
“That’s fine, Slade and I will bunk together like we usually do,” Oliver told him.   
“You usually sleep together?” Thea asked.   
“Oliver has violent nightmares, Slade is the only one strong enough to hold him down and wake him up when he has one,” Shado explained as Oliver had lowered his head in shame and Slade was completely focused on Oliver concern showing on his face.   
“There is nothing to be ashamed of Oliver, it is completely understandable and know that Thea and I will do whatever is needed to help you and your friends adjust.” Walter said and Thea nodded her agreement. Walter then showed them to their rooms and he and Thea bid them all good night. As Oliver lay down on the left side of the first proper bed he had slept in for a long time, and for Slade who had the right side even longer, he sent a silent prayer out hoping that everything would be better from now on.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: 

The middle of the night saw Oliver wake up screaming from a nightmare. He was dreaming about Wintergreen torturing him, and woke up when the man had stabbed him with a heated blade, only to find a large man looming over him ordering him to calm down. Slade. He immediately stopped struggling and sighed as he laid back. He hated the nightmares, he hated making Slade lose sleep to help him wake up and most of all he hated how they made all the bad memories he would rather bury, re-surface. The door opened to reveal Thea in her pajamas with Sara and Shado; he had a feeling Walter wouldn’t be far behind either. He hated making them worry as well; he had faced many of the things that had happened to him in his nightmares in real life without screaming and thrashing, yet when asleep all his defenses left him. 

“Sorry Slade, it’s okay guys you can go back to sleep now, I’m sorry I woke you up.” Just as he finished Walter appeared behind the girls, though he had taken the time to put a dressing gown and slippers on, instead of just run to his room like the others obviously had. 

“It’s okay kid, you know you don’t have to apologize. You aren’t responsible for the nightmares and you can’t stop them.” Slade gave him a squeeze on his shoulder and lay back down with a yawn. Sara leant down to whisper something in Thea’s ear. 

“Goodnight guys,” Thea said. Slade and Oliver answered back with their own good nights and Shado shut the door quietly. The two of them quickly drifted back to sleep. 

Oliver awoke again, but this time to the noises Slade was making. It wasn’t often the man had a nightmare so bad he made noise, but they happened at least once a month. He hated them too; it was almost impossible to wake Slade up when he was in the middle of a bad nightmare. Oliver moved so he was far enough away from the man incase he lashed out, and tentatively reached out and then shook Slade’s shoulder fast and firmly until the man lashed out and Oliver stepped back out of the way of the blow. Oliver did this over and over again all the while calling Slade’s name and reassuring the man that he was having a nightmare and he was safe. After five minutes Slade woke up just as Oliver was in the middle of shaking him again and saying that he was safe. The man looked around wildly for a moment, remembered where he was and laid back down with a groan. 

“How long?” He asked.   
“You woke me up five minutes ago, but it didn’t seem as bad as the last one,” Oliver offered.   
“That’s what you say every time kid. Thanks though,” Slade said.   
“You helped me earlier, and basically every night, it’s the least I can do,” Oliver returned with a smile. “Should we go see if the others are up?” he asked.   
“Why not? I’m not going back to sleep any time soon. And if they’re not we can just begin your training, especially seeing as you owe me 100 extra push ups every day this week.” Slade reminded him with a small smile. The two got dressed and used the bathroom attached to the bedroom and went to the dining area to see if anyone was awake. 

It was empty so Oliver pulled his top off and did his stretches and then began doing the 150 push-ups he now owed Slade. Slade lowered himself next to the kid and began doing sit-ups, trusting the kid to count his own. They both continued and just enjoyed the silence only interrupted by the sounds of their breathing. They finished their sit and push-ups and then swapped over with Oliver doing sit-ups and Slade doing push-ups. Once they finished those they had both worked up a sweat and were breathing slightly harder. The next bit of their morning training was sparring.  
“Just keep it hand to hand today?” Oliver asked.  
“Sure,” Slade replied easily having been thinking the same thing. 

Oliver had been improving remarkably and was able to hold his own with Slade for six minutes until Thea, Sara and Shado walked in and Sara wolf-whistled.  
“A show for breakfast, this ship has very good entertainment value,” Shado remarked with a grin.   
Slade and Oliver just grinned, used to the girls comments and began sparring again. Oliver held for a few minutes longer, but was too slow to block a swipe to his left side and it connected with a small whine from Oliver in pain.   
“Ollie,” Thea gasped concerned.   
“It is okay Thea, they are only practicing. At worst all Oliver will get is a bruise from sparring from Slade.” Shado explained putting a hand on the girls shoulder in comfort.   
“Don’t worry Speedy, I know what a delicate little flower the kid is,” Slade drawled with a smirk on his face.   
Oliver gaped at him while Sara and Shado laughed and Thea grinned, and then executed a sharp jab into Slade’s right side where he was open. And it connected, knocking Slade back a few steps.   
Oliver and Slade just stood there both open mouthed, this was the first actual hit (that wasn’t a complete fluke) that Oliver had carried out that Slade hadn’t been able to block.   
Oliver put his hand up and held it out waiting. Slade’s face immediately morphed from shock to a glare. Shado and Sara began grinning. Oliver had the hugest grin on his face.   
“What’s happening?” Thea asked.   
“Oliver and Slade made a deal. Slade would give Oliver a high-five if Oliver ever managed to land a proper hit on him during sparring.” Sara explained.  
“So what’s the big deal?” Thea asked still confused.   
“Does Slade look like a high-fiving type of person? Or a person who loses a bet?” Shado asked with a grin.  
The three of them waited as Oliver still stood there with his arm outstretched and Slade very reluctantly gave him a half-hearted high-five.   
“You know what, I’m in such a good mood, that I don’t even care that you didn’t do that properly.”   
The two of them sat down across from the girls, still shirtless and sweaty and waited for breakfast.   
“I don’t know how you would of managed to survive Lian Yu if it wasn’t for us,” Slade told him.   
“If you think I’m bad, you wait ‘til you meet Tommy. I have matured and mellowed out a lot. And I know to listen to you and Shado otherwise you’ll kick my arse. I used to talk a lot more too. Tommy is me but a thousand times worse.”   
“He can’t talk if I kill him,” Slade countered.   
“You can’t kill Tommy,” Oliver told him in a tone that suggested they had had this conversation before.   
“Gag him,” Slade countered.   
“Nope,” Oliver said.   
“Threaten him,” Slade offered.  
“Depends on how annoying he gets,” Sara butted in before Oliver banned Slade from that too. Slade gave her a grin in thanks while Oliver pouted in her direction. The staff then bought in breakfast, plain oatmeal with a small topping of fruit. Thea looked at it unhappily until she remembered her promise and began eating. Oliver, deciding just to make it easier and try everything himself, grabbed a spoonful and ate it. He waited to see if his stomach would accept it, which it did and then went to grab another spoonful. He had forgotten how much of a bland taste normal oatmeal had to it, but it was food and if there was one thing he had learned on the Island, it was to never turn down food.   
“Tastes better than that bird you tried to cook,” Slade told him with a grin.   
Oliver nudged the man in retribution and continued to eat his breakfast, wondering what they were going to do today.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I have no clue how video calling works, so this could be completely wrong. Especially on boats. And I changed the life boat scene before Robert kills himself slightly.

Chapter Seven: 

 

After breakfast they decided to try and call Moira again. Walter had come in to grab his bowl of oatmeal and gave his apologies as he had work to catch up on today and would be in his room if they needed him. So this left Oliver and Thea in front of the screen again and Sara, Shado and Slade standing behind them. No one picked up, they tried three times but each time the call just went to message bank.   
“Could we try to call my dad?” Sara asked.  
“Sure, do you know his number?” Thea replied getting ready to type in the new number.  
“Well if he hasn’t changed it since I left,” Sara replied and told Thea the number.   
The phone rang twice and then the sound of Detective Lance came through.  
“Hello?” He asked. Oliver immediately got up to give Sara his spot.  
“Detective Lance, it’s Thea Queen, do you have a phone that can video call?” Thea asked.   
“Yeah, why?” He questioned again.   
“There is someone I really think you would rather see than just hear. I’ll ring you back in a second using video call. Please accept.” Thea said and she hung up. Thea quickly rang him back but using the video call option. Within the first ring Lance answered and his face was visible. 

“Daddy?” Sara choked out, tears coming to her eyes. Oliver, Slade and Shado immediately put a hand on each of her shoulders and in the middle of her back in support and comfort.   
“Sara, it can’t be, how?” Lance said looking in disbelief.   
“That phone call Laurel got was real, it wasn’t a prank. Thea and Walter came and saved us,” Sara told him as she furiously wiped the tears from her eyes.   
“Oh god, I thought it was a prank too, and it was real all along. I would of just left you there. Oh god, Sara I am so sorry. Please forgive me.” Lance began sobbing as he realised that Sara could have still been stuck there because he thought it was a prank call.   
“It’s okay Daddy, I’m safe now, and we are all coming home.” Sara told him.   
“We? So Queen did survive then?” Lance’s voice turned angry as he looked in the background and spotted Oliver Queen who was looking like a deer caught in the path of a car.   
“If it wasn’t for Oliver and Slade being brave enough to take on all the mercenaries, then they never would of gotten that call out and Sara would still be dead as far as you would know.” Shado told him, coming to Oliver’s aid. Lance looked like he was about to say something when Sara quickly interrupted.   
“Dad, it doesn’t matter now, I’m safe and will be home soon.”  
“How soon? And does your sister know?” Lance asked. Sara looked at Thea.  
“About a week I think,” Thea answered.   
“Laurel doesn’t know yet. Only you and Mrs. Queen know, well apart from Thea and Walter.” Sara answered his second question. They spoke to each other for a while and with the promise that she would call again soon they said their goodbyes.   
“Well you weren’t wrong about him hating you kid,” Slade said.  
“He drinks a lot now, Tommy told me.” Thea said quietly. Oliver looked sad for a moment, but at the mention of Tommy he got an idea. He quickly leaned down and whispered his idea in Thea’s ear. She grinned in response and quickly typed a new number and pressed the video call button. Within seconds Tommy Merlyn’s face was on the screen.

“Look who I found,” Thea told him proudly.   
“Oliver, fuck,” Oliver growled at the use of a swear word in front of his younger sister, “shit, sorry,” then he realised he swore again, “fuck, I’m sorry Oliver,” Tommy then went to open his mouth again when Oliver cut in.  
“Tommy, I missed you,” he told him. Thea, Shado and Sara were smiling and Slade put his head in his hands and groaned, it was as bad as he thought. Oliver’s best friend was worse than the kid was when they first met.   
“Are you going to introduce me?” Tommy asked referring to the people he didn’t know.   
“Sara you know, next to her is Shado and the man who looks like he is wishing to go back to the Island is Slade.” Oliver introduced them.   
“This trio is going to be hilarious,” Sara told Shado.   
“We are going to totally need popcorn when they meet in person,” Thea added with a grin. Tommy looked confused at the mention of a trio and Oliver decided to take pity on him and explain.   
“Slade and I became close on the Island. He saved my life a lot, and is the only reason I survived. We realised we are more like brothers than anything, and since you and me are basically brothers too, Sara has already decided to call us a trio.” Oliver said. Slade was content to just watch as Oliver and Tommy caught up, until he remembered something.   
“Kid, the book,” he reminded Oliver. Oliver’s eyes opened wider in recognition and quickly grabbed a small book out of his back pocket.   
“Hey, Dad gave this to me right before he died. Told me I needed to right his wrongs as he gave me this book. He said that it contained the names of everyone who had failed the city. It was blank and thought he was delirious or the water washed away the ink or something, but I needed to light a fire so I ripped a few pages out of it, thinking it was just a blank book but when I put the pages near the heat writing appeared. The whole book is filled with names. Do you recognize it at all?” He asked as he put it up closer to the camera and slowly flipped through it so Tommy could see and then gave it to Thea.   
“No man, haven’t seen it before in my life. But I recognize some of the names. Business guys that work with my Dad, and some of them have been on the news lately due to some shady stuff like building houses that aren’t up to code or putting up the rent so high no one in the Glades can afford to pay it sort of thing.” Tommy told him.   
“No I don’t remember the book at all,” Thea said as she gave it back to Oliver.   
“You said your Dad was a very important business guy right?” Slade asked.   
“Yeah, he was CEO of Queen Consolidated, why?” Oliver told him.   
“Maybe your Dad made a list of people never to work with or people he knew were shady in some respect, the ones who failed the city. Maybe these people are the wrongs he wants you to right?” Shado offered catching up with what Slade was thinking.   
“That could be it, why don’t you get Thea to send me the list and I will google them, see if they are all like that. Least I can do, I’m sorry man that I thought the call was a prank. It’s just that I finally moved past the denial stage and when Laurel told us all it was a prank, it was just easier for me to accept it than it would have been to hope you were alive and to find out it was just a prank. I’m really sorry, all of you, if Thea hadn’t of believed it was you, you would still be stuck there.” Tommy said looking sad.   
“It’s okay man, we will be home soon and then we can catch up properly.” Oliver said with a grin.   
“Could you tell Laurel for me, and tell her I will see her soon.” Sara asked.  
“Of course,” Tommy told her. They said their good byes and then hung up. 

“Any reason you’re waiting until you see her?” Shado asked her.   
“Dad was tough enough today, I don’t think I can handle calling Laurel too,” Sara said quietly. Oliver put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently in support.   
“Enough with the sad faces, Thea can send those names to Tommy and I’m going to watch Oliver suffer,” Slade said sounding cheerful.   
“Suffer?” Thea asked.  
“Yoga with Shado, she’s going to break me in half one day with her poses.” Oliver told her in defeat as he gave Thea the book and then moved to the middle of the room, which had just enough room for him to stretch and began following Shado’s instructions. Slade began chuckling as the kid did a pose that made him seem like he was tying himself in a knot and Sara winced as she heard all his joints click as he tried to get out of the pose. Thea smiled as she watched her brother that once couldn’t be convinced to even watch sport, contort himself into impossible yoga poses. He had changed a lot, but he had changed for the better.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: 

That night passed peacefully with neither Slade nor Oliver having nightmares. They were still the first ones to breakfast again giving them time to do their morning routine. Walter was once again last to breakfast, though he was the only one to shower before hand. They began eating their bowl of fruit salad when Slade turned slightly to face Walter.   
“I was wondering if you might be able to do me a favor?” he asked Walter.  
“Of course, what do you need?” Walter replied.   
“I was wondering if you had any business contacts in Australia, and whether or not you could ask them to track down my son and find out how he is?” Slade asked quietly. There were not many people he trusted in his life and to ask Walter to find his son for him was difficult, but if it weren’t for Walter believing Thea, they would still be stuck on that Island.   
“Queen Consolidated has a branch in Australia, if you give me his name and the address he was living at when you left I am sure they will be able to find him,” Walter said pulling a pen and small notebook out of his jacket pocket. He flipped to a new page and handed it over to Slade who quickly wrote the details down, hope filling him. He handed the book and pen back.  
‘I will get right on this after breakfast. I will come find you when I have news,” Walter told him with a smile.   
“Thank you,” Slade said giving the man a smile. He began eating his breakfast again with the smile still on his face.   
“Our family is getting bigger Speedy,” Oliver told her wrapping an arm around her shoulders giving a small squeeze.   
“The more the merrier, Tommy is going to get his life back,” Thea said with a grin.   
The others looked at her confused for a second, as if sensing there was more to the story. Thea shifted uncomfortably for a moment but decided to tell them. 

“There is more that I didn’t tell you, about when you first went missing. Mum actually locked herself in her room, and she got really angry whenever the staff approached her. She fired all of them but Raisa for months. I was all alone, after realizing there wasn’t any drivers to take me to school and mum wasn’t going to bother I called Tommy. And he showed up every morning to take me to school, and was waiting at school every afternoon for me. He dropped me off home, but then one day he needed to come in for a minute to use the bathroom. He saw everything covered in dust. Raisa tried, but she couldn’t do the whole mansion by herself so she just stuck to my room, the kitchen and the dining area. I told him everything then. He realised how similar my life was to his life as a kid when Malcolm left him, and so whenever he could he would stay with me. Help me with homework, though that usually involved calling someone to ask for the answer and he watched movies with me. But lately, since he started spending time with Laurel and mum hired the drivers back; he hasn’t been coming around as much. Which is okay because I have mum and Walter, but it was nice because it was kinda like you were still there with me sometimes.” She said, looking at Oliver for the last bit. Oliver hugged her tightly.   
“I missed you too, I had Slade to look after me though. He is a lot more responsible than Tommy is though. Really cranky too,” he added with a grin.   
“And somehow in the span of a year I went from just having a son to look after, to having Joe, a brother, three sisters and all of their families,” Slade said with an exaggerated sigh. Shado however looked sad when he mentioned families, remembering her father. Oliver noticed and nudged Slade with his foot slightly alerting him to Shado’s sadness. While they were silently trying to decide what to do Thea walked over and sat on the other side of Shado and gave her a hug.   
“I know what it is like to lose a father,” Thea whispered to her.   
“How did you know I lost my father?” Shado asked confused.   
“Our rooms are next to each others and the walls are thin. I wasn’t eavesdropping but I heard you and Sara talking about him last night.” Thea explained. Walter stood then, his bowl empty, held up the notebook to let them know he was going to call the Australian branch of Queen Consolidated and left. The rest silently finished their breakfast and discussed what they were going to do for the day. Thea decided she wanted to learn how to spar too, considering Slade and Shado were still teaching Oliver and Sara they decided one more couldn’t hurt. 

Walter found them on the deck, going through a combination of basic blocking and attacking stances later that morning. He went over to Slade who had immediately turned when Oliver greeted the man. Walter handed over a folder to Slade who immediately opened it and stared at the first page. Oliver went over and looked over Slade’s shoulder, which was easy to do considering he was shorter than Oliver. The first page was an A4 photograph of a boy in his school uniform with this years date above his head. The boy looked identical to Slade, same hair colour and style, same eye colour and the same cocky smile Slade often had graced his lips. Oliver groaned.   
“There are two of you, how am I going to survive?” he whined. At this Shado, Sara and Thea came over to look; Slade lowered the file so Thea could see as well.   
“He is definitely your son,” Shado remarked.   
“He’s beautiful Slade,” Sara told him.   
“He looks just like you,” Thea commented. 

Slade began flicking through the rest of the folder; the next page contained an address and other information. When he read it he froze.  
“What happened to her?” Slade asked. The others looked confused but Walter shifted uncomfortably.   
“She developed a drug problem after you went missing, she didn’t come home one afternoon. They never found her. Joe was sent to the orphanage but refused to be adopted or put into foster care because he believes you are coming back for him.” Walter told him quietly. Slade looked down at Thea.   
“Can you help me Speedy?” He asked.   
“Of course,” Thea replied, Slade began walking off still clutching the folder tightly towards the phone. He was going to call the orphanage and talk to his son. He gave Thea the piece of paper with the orphanages details and she quickly dialed the number and gave the phone to Slade. The call connected right away and Slade explained to the orphanage what had happened. The secretary he was speaking to was an old lady by the name of Julie and she was relieved that Slade was alive. She asked a few questions to confirm his identity, and once she got that confirmation, she didn’t even move the phone from her mouth as she screamed for Joe. Slade heard her tell Joe that it was his dad on the phone, that he had been stranded on an island the whole time and that he had finally managed to get off and was coming home. He heard the phone rattle a bit.   
“Dad?” Joe’s voice came through and it made Slade’s heart tighten. This was the first time he had heard his son in almost two years.   
“Yeah, Joe it’s me,” Slade said hoarsely.  
“I knew you weren’t dead, nobody believed me but. When will you be coming home?” Joe asked excitedly.   
“It will take me about a week to get to Starling City. I met some people on the island and we are going to live with one of them in his house,” he told Joe.   
“It must be a big house then,” Joe said thoughtfully.   
“I have been told it is a mansion and looks like a castle,” Slade explained.   
“Cool,” Joe exclaimed but then hesitated a moment before continuing, “why did you leave me for so long?” he asked quietly. Slade sighed, he knew Joe was going to ask this but he had hoped to be able to tell him in person, to be able to hold him as he explained those two years, but it wasn’t to be.   
“The plane I was in crashed, the island I landed on was full of bad soldiers who kept me prisoner for a year before I escaped. I couldn’t find a way off the island though, until I met Oliver, he is the one we will be staying with, he was shipwrecked and together we decided to try and hideaway on one of their supply planes and get off the island that way, but the plan went wrong but Oliver managed to get a call out for help and his family came and rescued us. I’m sorry Joe, there wasn’t a day that I didn’t think of you, wonder what you were doing, how you were, but we will be together soon and I won’t leave you ever again. I promise.” Slade vowed. They talked some more, Slade finding out more about what Joe had been up to, and Joe finding out about Oliver, Shado, Sara and Thea. Joe was excited that he was going to have someone to play with. Thea had left at the beginning of the call and returned with Oliver just as he was saying his goodbye to Joe with lunch. Once he hung up he just sat their for a while looking at the picture of Joe until Oliver gently took it from his hands and place the plate of food in its stead.   
“Walter’s already got people working on you getting custody of Joe again, and the second we do, and considering he has a whole team of lawyers on it, it shouldn’t be too long, Joe will get on a plane to Starling City and be able to greet us when we arrive.” Oliver explained.   
“Thanks kid,” Slade told him sincerely.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: 

The next day saw Walter come into breakfast with good news.   
“The lawyers have sorted everything, you will need to give a statement to ASIS within thirty days but they have said they will send a representative to come to Starling to talk to you about it. You now have custody of Joe again and in eight hours he will be on a plane heading for Starling City, Tommy and Detective Lance have agreed to meet him at the airport. I have also spoken with the Captain and due to good winds we will arrive the day after Joe will. So that will give him the night to settle in and you will be reunited with your son the following morning. Tommy has also offered to stay the night at the Queen Mansion just incase Joe needs anything during the night, though I have told him Moira should be home. Speaking of which have any of you been able to contact her, none of my calls got her yesterday, they all went to message bank?” Walter asked.   
Slade leant over and shook Walter’s hand in thanks and then looked at Thea and Oliver.   
“We didn’t ring yesterday, but we tried the day before and it went to message bank, we can try again after breakfast if you want?” Oliver offered.   
“That would be appreciated,” Walter replied. Oliver nodded his understanding and began eating his breakfast.   
“So how much longer before we get to Starling?” Sara asked.  
“Three days if these conditions hold, which the Captain has assured me they will,” Walter replied.   
“Have you told my dad that?” Sara questioned.  
“No, he offered to pick up Joe but then was interrupted with a call from the station so I did not have a chance to tell him,” Walter said.   
“You can tell him the good news this morning then, your father will be very happy,” Shado said. She tried to mask the pain on her face when she said it but everyone noticed it.   
“Like we have said before, we became a family on that Island, and just because we have left it doesn’t mean we will leave you. Our families are your families Shado, and I’m going to need you to save me if Joe doesn’t just share his looks with Slade,” Oliver told her, all of them grinning at the last bit.   
“Can’t handle the two of us already kid?” Slade asked with a cocky grin.   
“Two Slade’s in my life, should I be pinching myself to see if I’m having a nightmare,” Oliver replied back with his own cocky grin.   
“Imagine them both waking you up,” Shado added with a grin. And Oliver could imagine it and with the grin Slade was wearing it wouldn’t be too long before he was a reality. Oliver groaned and put his head in his hands, much to everyone’s amusement. 

Later that morning found them all sitting around the videophone again. They had decided to try calling Moira first, Detective Lance second and if Moira didn’t answer the first time, to try her again. And if she didn’t answer, to call Tommy to check on her for them. Moira didn’t pick up the first time though, so Thea dialed in the number of Detective Lance and moved over so Sara was in the center of the screen. He answered on the second ring.   
“Sara?” He asked.   
“Hey Dad,” she replied.   
“How are things going sweetheart?” he asked, sitting down on his couch.   
“Good Dad, and I just want to thank you for offering to pick up Joe at the airport, we should be home in three days.” She said as Slade leaned forward so he was more visible on screen.   
“Yes, thank you very much Mr. Lance, this means a lot to me,” Slade told him.   
“No worries, the way Sara has explained it, you and Shado kept my baby girl safe on that Island, so there is no way as a fellow father that I would let your son get off that plane with only Merlyn to greet him, that’s just asking for trouble.” Lance told him.   
“The more I hear about Tommy, the more I dread meeting him,” Slade commented. Lance laughed.   
“Well if you can handle Queen, you’ll be fine with him,” Lance replied.   
“The kid was pretty bad when I first met him, you wait until I tell you some of the stories. But he listened and he followed my orders, and he even saved my life on a few occasions, so maybe there is hope for Tommy yet,” Slade offered.   
“I’m not working until the afternoon so I have time for a couple of those stories,” Lance hinted causing Slade to grin and launch into telling them all about the time Oliver stepped on a land mine. Slade had just gotten to the part where the soldiers were arriving when Oliver interrupted.   
“There was not 20 of them,” Oliver told him, “And you did not kill them all without breaking a sweat either, you were definitely breathing hard when you finished” he said. Shado snorted at Slade’s exaggeration.   
“There were still quite a few of them, and the kid didn’t help at all,” Slade recounted.   
“I was stuck on a land mine,” Oliver interrupted again, “what did you expect me to do?”   
“You could of thought of something,” Slade countered.  
“What ask one of them nicely to come stand right in front of me and hold still while I killed him?” Oliver froze when he realised what he said and immediately turned to Thea.   
“I’m sorry Thea, I shouldn’t have said that,” Oliver apologized.   
“It’s okay, Shado and Sara talked to me while you guys were training the other morning. They told me that you, Slade and Shado killed people on the Island, and that the only reason was because otherwise they would of killed you. They were bad men Ollie, and you did what you had to do and I understand that,” Thea said with a small comforting smile, and Oliver gave her one in return.   
“Do you all regret it?” Lance asked.   
“Yes, but no” Oliver answered, “I wish there was another way, and I wish they were alive today, but Slade taught me to analyze what happened during a kill. To figure out if there was any other way I could of acted and still have gotten out of it alive. And there wasn’t, everyone I killed would have been extremely happy to take my body back to Fyers. So while I hate what I did, I don’t dwell on it and don’t beat myself up about it, they haunt my nightmares often enough as penance.”   
“The same, though I do occasionally think of how nice it would have been to kill Fyers,” Slade mused.   
“I would of flipped you a coin for it,” Shado told him seriously then turned to the screen to answer Lance’s question, “My father taught me that I should never regret any action taken to ensure my survival, and I will never in honor of his memory.”   
“Fyer’s? Was he one of the mercenaries?” Lance asked.   
“Leader of them, though he was a middle man carrying out someone else’s orders. Hopefully with all the information I pocketed and what I’ve heard over the two years ASIS can figure out who it is, and then either I or someone from ASIS can end this finally.” Slade mused.   
“You go and so are we,” Shado told him seriously. Oliver nodded his agreement. Thea and Lance looked slightly uncomfortable but a reassuring glance from Sara helped them.   
“I have time for another story,” Lance offered changing the subject. Slade grinned and began telling them about how Oliver had tried to light a fire by rubbing sticks together. Oliver interrupted half way through again; grinning as well as he remembered what had happened.   
“And so I spent over two hours trying to light this fire and the whole time Slade was watching and offered stupid bits of advice like ‘try twisting the sticks anti-clockwise instead’ and it turns out he had a lighter the whole time!” Oliver exclaimed. The whole group laughed including Lance through the video connection. Even Slade was heartily laughing instead of his usual chuckle.   
“It was hilarious, after the first thirty minutes I could barely keep a straight face. I kept waiting for the kid to give up or realize I was giving him stupid advice, but he was so determined to light the fire. It was very entertaining.” Slade told them. 

They talked for a bit more, filling in the time before Lance had to go to work, but soon had to say their goodbyes for the time being. After they hung up Thea put in Moira’s number again. And once again it went to voicemail. Slightly worried Thea put in Tommy’s number and he answered on the first ring. He informed them that he had only seen Moira half an hour ago, and that she had been spending a lot of time with Malcolm since they had found out Oliver and Sara were alive. Oliver thanked him for looking after Thea while he had been stuck on Lian Yu, though Tommy told him it was the least he could have done. Thea thanked Tommy too and hung up, she stood and offered to go find Walter and tell him. As she left the room Oliver received a comforting hand on his shoulder from Sara.   
“Who would of thought the day would come when I’m on better terms with your Father than my Mother?” he joked weakly.   
“You still have Thea and I and I am sure Moira is just in shock and needs some time to adjust.” Walter said from the doorway he had just appeared in with Thea at his side. She nodded her head in agreement with Walter’s statement.   
“Thanks,” Oliver said with a smile and he made a quick glance over his family.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: Going to fast-forward a few days to the day that the ship arrives in Starling. Moira has still been avoiding Walter and Thea’s attempts to phone her. Lance had rung them the previous day with Joe and Tommy to tell them that Joe had made it safely. Also if you think Oliver is acting a bit childish in this chapter (again); remember he peed on a cop and there is a link between PTSD and regression.   
> Also some reviews would be greatly appreciated!!

Chapter Ten: 

 

Oliver woke up before Slade that morning, which he noted with a smile, was a rare occurrence. He could count on one hand how many times he had woken up before the man. Then he realised something else. Today was the day they were docking at Starling. With a bigger smile he got up and put a top on, when he looked over to Slade again he noticed the man was awake and looking at him with a big grin. He had realised what today was too. They finished their morning routine earlier today due to their enthusiasm and the others joined them for breakfast earlier than usual as well. The happiness was infectious to everyone but Shado.   
“I think Shado is more of an Aunt person, what do you think Oliver?” Sara asked. Oliver looked completely confused and looked to Slade and Shado for answers who both looked clueless as well.   
“Huh?” Oliver questioned.   
“What Joe is going to call us, I think Aunt Shado works,” Sara clarified. Shado looked shocked, she hadn’t really considered labeling the friendship she had with the others in this way. Oliver grinned realizing where this was going.   
“Yeah, I don’t see her as Auntie Shado,” Oliver said. Shado narrowed her eyes at the teasing way Oliver had said ‘auntie”.   
“You forget who is still the student here Ollie,” Shado said putting extra emphasis on ‘Ollie’. Oliver winced at how she said that.   
“He will always be the kid in this relationship,” Slade agreed.   
“Sara is younger than I am,” Oliver exclaimed.   
“She is smarter though,” Shado told him with a grin.  
“Doesn’t chuck as many tantrums like you do,” Slade added. They were all grinning a part from Oliver.   
“I do not chuck tantrums!” Oliver said loudly.   
“Eat your breakfast before I give you a time out,” Slade told him with mock seriousness. Thea and Walter were highly amused and Sara and Shado were barely containing their laughter. Oliver looked down frustrated at his breakfast plotting ways to get Slade back. It would have to be creative and unexpected and a light bulb moment hit as he took another mouthful of his fruit salad. He was glad he had learnt the basics of how to catapult stuff with Slade, back when it was just the two of them. He lent the spoon in and grabbed a slice of peach covered in juice and began slowly moving it towards himself. At the last second he twisted the spoon slightly and sent the peach slice flying with it making contact a second later on Slade’s nose. The whole table froze and watched as the peach slice fell and the juice began running down his face. Slade slowly moved his head so he was looking straight at Oliver, who gulped.   
“This seemed like a good idea in my head,” Oliver offered desperately. Thea snorted loudly at this, having heard that excuse before.   
‘You’re dead Ollie,” Sara told him.   
“It was nice to have met you,” Shado added.   
“Slade,” Oliver dragged out his name pleadingly.   
“Kid,” Slade said back his voice quieter and more serious than usual. Oliver was never more thankful for the nickname Slade had given him.   
“Exactly, Kid, Kid’s make mistakes.” Oliver told him. Slade regarded him.   
“And then they get punished for them,” Slade reminded him. Oliver groaned.   
“What are you going to make me do?” Oliver said dreading whatever physical punishment he was about to receive.   
“You said you had a mile long perimeter surrounding your house?” Slade queried. Walter nodded.   
“3 laps,” Slade told him. Oliver immediately regarded him with suspicion, that wasn’t nearly as harsh as he was expecting. After all the training Slade and Shado had put him through, he could run three miles easily.   
“With me behind you, and you won’t like the consequences of me catching you,” Slade added with a raised eyebrow. This resulted in Oliver groaning again. Slade may not look like a runner, but the Island had turned him into a fast long distance runner. Slade was faster than Shado and himself. Walter and Thea looked confused though, not seeing the seriousness of Slade joining in.   
“Slade is the fastest runner and the best at running long distances out of all of us,” Shado told them to their surprise. The Captain knocked on the door politely.   
“We should be docked within the hour if you want to begin packing the belongings you wish to take with you now and the rest will be packed by the staff and delivered later today.” He informed them.   
“Thank you Captain,” Walter told him, the Captain nodded and left.   
“We should probably get packing then,” Thea said getting up. The others followed suit and went to begin packing. 

“I’m nervous,” Oliver said quietly. He was in the middle of the group including Thea and Walter waiting on the deck as the crew members were attaching the boat to the docks.   
“Why?” Thea asked.   
“I’ve changed a lot Thea, you and Walter have accepted me but what about everyone else. I’m not the same person that I was when I left, and I hope they don’t expect me to be. I can’t be the Oliver they remember anymore, too much has happened.” Oliver trailed off with a haunted look as he remembered killing his first man.   
“I’m nervous too, for the exact same reasons,” Sara offered. The others stood silently unsure of what to say.   
“Joe’s waiting for me,” Slade said. The closest he would come to admitting that he was scared.   
“As you have been telling me since we were rescued, we are family now. We accept each other, even if they need time to adjust to the changes, you will always have us as support,” Shado said firmly.   
“Shado is right,” Walter agreed.   
“If you will follow me, I will take you down the ramp and help with your luggage,” the Captain announced. They were soon walking down the docks looking for any sign of their families. Tommy had texted to say they were already at the docks twenty minutes ago. Lance, Tommy and Joe were meeting them and then coming back to the Queen Mansion. 

“Ollie!” Tommy’s voice caused them all to turn to the left towards the toilet block and they saw the three of them running towards the group. Slade dropped to his knees and soon was hugging Joe with all he had as Joe cried into his shoulder. Lance embraced Sara and the both of them were soon crying. Tommy had stopped in front of Oliver and was grinning hugely.   
“Welcome home,” Tommy told him, and then looked at Shado who was standing next to Oliver.   
“It’s nice to meet you in person,” Tommy said.   
“Thank you, and it is nice to meet you in person too,” Shado offered with a small smile. Slade stood up, not letting go of Joe but opting for holding his hand instead of a crushing hug.   
“Joe this is Thea who I was telling you about on the phone,” Slade said pointing out Thea who smiled in return, “your Aunts Shado and Sara,” Shado gave a smile but Sara was shocked but soon recovered and smiled at both Joe and Slade, “and Walter.” Slade said with Walter giving a warm smile in return. To everyone’s, including Tommy and Lance’s amusement Slade pointedly ignored Oliver’s dropped jaw at not being included.   
“Oh, I forgot, the one with the weird face is unfortunately your Uncle Oliver, though I have a feeling you are more mature than he is,” Slade said making a subtle reference to that mornings scene with the peach slice.   
“What did you do to get on his bad side?” Lance asked.   
“He flung a piece of peach at Slade this morning and it hit him on the nose,” Thea offered with a grin. Tommy choked with laughter and Lance rolled his eyes at their antics.   
“Why?” Tommy asked.   
“He said I chucked tantrums and then threatened me with a time out like I was a kid,” Oliver said grumpily.   
“So you threw food at him, I’m not even seeing how that helped prove you aren’t a kid,” Joe said. This caused everyone but Oliver to laugh. Oliver watched as his old life and his new life interacted together and the fear he had about them not accepting him and his new family was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: 

Tommy had come in this father’s largest limo, allowing all of them to fit in the same car. Shado had looked around the interior of the car with awe. She had lived a decent life before the Island but had never seen this level of luxury especially for just a car. Joe noticed her look and leant around his dad.   
“If you think this is cool, wait ‘til you see our new house. It’s a castle!” Joe told her. Slade heard and began thinking the kid wasn’t just exaggerating anymore, especially seeing how unconcerned he was with the limo.   
“Kid,” Slade started getting Oliver’s attention from the conversation he was having between him and Tommy.   
“Yeah?” Oliver replied.   
“I will admit that all this time I thought you may have been exaggerating the ‘living in a castle’ speech, but you’re not kidding are you?” Slade asked.   
“Nope,” Oliver drawled giving extra emphasis to the ‘e’ with a grin on his face. Thea and Tommy were grinning too.   
“We will be there soon, so you can see for yourselves,” Walter added. 

And soon enough the car slowed as it approached a large set of wrought iron gates that opened after the driver identified himself. Slade and Shado’s jaws actually dropped at the first glimpse of their new home. It was actually a castle. Two story’s high, complete with a main keep section flanked by two towers and protected by turrets. Old style mazes were a centre feature in front of the castle. Slade eventually pulled himself away from looking at his new home to notice Oliver, Thea and Tommy snickering at him and Shado. Walter, Lance, Sara and Joe were smiling at them.   
“No wonder you complained so much, if this is what you’re used too.” Slade offered.   
“It’s your life now too Slade,” Oliver told him sincerely. Slade gave him a nod in return. The driver parked and walked around and opened the door. They all got out.   
“We’re home” Thea said tears of happiness coming to her eyes. Oliver gave her a quick hug.   
“Thea why don’t you give the tour?” Walter suggested. Thea looked shocked for a moment but then nodded and opened the front door. The tour was successful, Slade had taken the room next to Oliver’s on the left and Shado the room on the right. Once they were done, they all assembled in the main foyer. Unsure of what to do next Slade decided to take charge.   
“Ready for your first run?” Oliver groaned but took his shirt off without thinking. On the Island they had always removed their tops when running to avoid soaking them with sweat. The doctor had removed Slade and Oliver’s bandages yesterday and announced that the infection was gone and they just had to keep the area clean until it was all healed. As the shirt fell to the floor, he heard three gasps. He mentally cursed himself and went to grab his top when Thea stopped him.   
“These scars prove that Oliver survived. There were a lot of bad men on the Island but they are gone and Ollie is still here. So are Slade’s, Shado’s and Sara’s. All of their scars are proof they were stronger. Slade and Shado mostly.” Thea told them and teased at the end. Lance, who had scars himself was the first to recover and Joe having seen his dad’s scars before was next, but Tommy was still staring horrified at Oliver’s chest.   
“Come on kid, he just needs some time,” Slade told him and they began walking outside. Slade decided to show his support, took his top off too and knelt down for Joe to see. When Joe was smaller, he had demanded to see up-close every new scar his dad had returned with and from Joe’s small smile he hadn’t forgotten either. Joe walked around not touching but taking in all the new scars across Slade’s back and chest.   
“Did I hurt you when I hugged you?” Joe asked. Slade marveled at his son, he had always been able to accept his scars.   
“No, most of these are old, and the doctor fixed up the rest while we were on the boat coming home.” Joe nodded at this. Slade stood up and taking Joe’s hand followed Oliver over to where he was stretching on the lawn. Slade did a few stretches as well but soon they were discussing the route they were going to run. Once it was agreed, Slade graciously allowed Oliver a thirty-second head start. 

Walter told Oliver when to run and then thirty seconds later told Slade. Oliver’s beginning had amazed them all as he raced around the perimeter. They had been even more amazed as Slade rocketed, quickly catching up with Oliver. Oliver had managed to almost finish the first lap when Slade made the first contact. Slade stopped and Oliver kept running. After counting to thirty in his head Slade began running again, once again quickly closing the gap between the two as the others watched on.   
“So what’s going to happen once they are finished, now that Slade has tagged Ollie?” Thea asked.   
“The first time they did this, Oliver had to cook a meal for every time Slade caught him. Slade quickly learnt that was punishment for everyone so he stopped that. The next time it was climbing a tree for every touch. The time after it was darkness training. I believe it will be again this time as well considering how bad he was at it the last time we did it.” Shado told her.   
“Darkness training?” Lance asked.   
“Oliver is blindfolded and Slade and myself spar with him. It helps him train his hearing and sense of smell,” Shado explained.   
“But your back now, why do you need to keep training?” Tommy asked quietly, having finally taken in the physical changes of his best friend.   
“There are many reasons. At various points and multiple times while we were on the Island we were completely helpless. Oliver and Slade the most. The training makes them not as helpless physically. It also helps them to cope mentally. Long sessions like this and in the mornings gives them time to just think of different sparring combinations or the right wrist movement when throwing or many other things instead of remembering everything that happened. It is also a bonding time, surviving and training was what brought Slade and Oliver together in the first place. It is the foundation of their bond. And Slade needs to be able to protect all of us. Especially now with our group so much bigger than before. Even if we are safe here, the soldier in Slade demands to know that he is able to protect us all from anything, and the soldier in Oliver demands to know that he can help his brother if something happens.” Shado finished. They watched as Oliver finished the remaining laps and Slade only managed to catch him once more, though at the end it was a close thing. Once Oliver had crossed the imaginary finish line he was breathing hard but Slade was only slightly flushed and his breathing had only slightly increased.   
“Not bad kid,” Slade congratulated.   
“Just tell me already,” Oliver panted.   
“Darkness training,” Slade said almost cheerfully. Oliver groaned, he swore that Slade had planned this as the punishment from the boat and just added the run in as an extra torture.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: They are keeping what happened with Ivo a secret. Human trafficking and world war two super soldier drugs aren’t something they want to talk about until Slade talks with the ASIS agent. So they are pretending that Sara just came along later and was on a different part of the Island the whole time.

Chapter Twelve: 

Shado offered to run back to the house to grab the blindfold and the poles they used to train. While she was gone Oliver caught his breath.   
“Can’t you pick something else Slade?” Oliver asked. Tommy decided to stick up for his best friend. He had been through enough and didn’t need to be ordered to do something he didn’t want to do as a punishment for not running fast enough to suit Slade.   
“Hey if Oliver doesn’t want to do something then he doesn’t have to, and you can’t force him too” Tommy told Slade. Slade raised one eyebrow, as Oliver and Sara looked completely shocked that Tommy had just said that to Slade. Tommy noticed and looked at them.   
“What?” Tommy asked confused.   
“Slade doesn’t make us do anything. Yeah it can seem like a lot sometime and it can take us out of our comfort zone, but everything Slade and Shado teach us is only to help us.” Sara said. Slade nodded at her in thanks and approval.   
“But you don’t need help now, look around you’re not on the Island anymore, and even then it couldn’t have been that bad.” They all stood shocked realizing that Tommy hadn’t really been told fully about the mercenaries on the Island like the others. Joe however was angry and morphing his face into a perfect replica of his dad’s scowl he walked over to Tommy.   
“That Island was full of bad men who spent a year hurting my dad until he managed to escape. He found Oliver who had also been hurt by the bad men and he saved him. Dad trained Oliver so he would be able to fight the bad men. And with Shado and Sara they faced and beat the bad guys. And if Oliver didn’t run those laps or do the blind training thing then they might have lost and then my dad wouldn’t of come back and I would have been in an orphanage for the rest of my life. So just because you live in a castle it doesn’t mean other people don’t have rough lives, so yeah it could have been that bad.” Joe yelled the last bit, but it wasn’t like a normal kids yelling. It was similar to when Slade yelled, a deep clear and loud serious voice. Oliver was looking in shock. Joe noticed this and faltered thinking he had said something wrong. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Joe asked hesitantly. Oliver knelt in front of Joe.   
“Not at all, but I looked at you because I have only heard one other person speak with that level of conviction and that’s your dad. We were surrounded by bad guys once; there would have been around a dozen of them all armed with rifles. It was just the two of us and we were both injured and barely armed. And then one of them dragged Shado, who was tied up into the circle they had made around us. I was so scared, I was pleading with them to let her go, but they just laughed. But then your dad started talking and the leader and the rest of the bad guys who were just laughing at me stopped, and they all listened to him. He has a way of talking where it is always the same tone used but he can use it to talk about something really serious or even something funny. And it seems you have the same talent. I’m sorry if I scared you but I was remembering that time on the Island, it wasn’t anything you said wrong.” Oliver said and gave Joe a hug when he finished. He looked up and over towards Tommy.  
“I realize you don’t know everything about what happened to us, no-one does at the moment. But you have to understand that the Oliver who was your best friend, he died when that boat went down. So did Sara. We changed a lot to survive. And without Slade we would have died. He seems rough around the edges but he went through more than what Shado, Sara and I did put together. And he sheltered us from as much of the bad stuff as he could, even though he thinks we didn’t notice,” Slade looked shocked at that but was met with grateful smiles from Oliver and Sara.  
“When I found them and began training, Slade seemed really mean and strict but then Oliver pointed out all the little things he did for me that I missed. When I had water collecting duty he would grab the larger jug to be filled, even though the others did the two jugs by themselves saying that he had heard something and didn’t want me to go alone. Or he would give me the shortest watch shift the night after I had a nightmare so I could catch up on sleep. He would make sure Shado and I would always get the best bits of the meat cooking, even though he and Oliver did the majority of the physical work every day. Like Oliver said, Slade kept us alive and as safe as he could, but he also kept us together and as sane as possible in the circumstances. So when Slade tells us to jump, we don’t even ask how high because he wouldn’t ask us to do something unless there was a reason, and even then it would always come down to keeping us safe. Island or not.” Sara said. Slade coughed to mask his emotion, not expecting that from Sara. He hadn’t realised that they noticed what he did for them, and to be grateful for it. He knew he came across as harsh and mean but he did it to make sure they understood how serious the situation was, how a small mistake could mean the difference between life and death. 

Shado walked up and rejoined the group not having heard the conversation, throwing a set of poles to Oliver and a set to Slade. She walked over and tied the blindfold over Oliver’s eyes. It was time to train. Slade instructed everyone to move back until they were several metres away and then he and Shado began circling Oliver. Oliver had stayed still the whole time and was focusing on his breathing. Shado was the first to attack, aiming the pole to hit with Oliver’s shoulder. Oliver heard the pole whoosh through the air and squatted quickly dodging the strike. He stood up again and waited for the next attack. Slade decided to strike next and brought the pole down to connect with his chest. Oliver once again heard the pole and this time felt Slade’s breath in his face, meaning the man was close and in front of him. He brought both of his poles up in front of his chest and face and managed to block Slade’s attack at the last second.   
“Very good kid,” Slade praised. They continued with the single attacks for ten minutes with Oliver only being hit seven times, five from Slade and twice from Shado.   
“Okay, that’s enough.” Shado said. Oliver immediately dropped the poles and took the blindfold off.   
“That was wicked, you have to teach me how to do that too,” Thea said enthusiastically as she came up to them.   
“You need to get better with your basic sparring first Speedy,” Oliver told her.   
“That was cool man,” Tommy offered trying to be supportive.   
“You should see me without the blindfold then,” Oliver told him with a cocky grin.   
“I think it would be wise to have lunch first, the doctor said you all need to gain weight.” Walter told them.   
“Except Slade,” Oliver and Thea added with a grin. They laughed, joined in by Shado, Sara and Walter who understood the joke. Slade grabbed them both by the waist and slung them over his shoulders. Thea squealed and Oliver laughed. He quickly put them down though and faked being out of breath and held his back.   
“I don’t think I’m the only one in need of a diet,” Slade mocked.   
“Are you calling us fat?” Thea asked in a put on hurt voice.   
“Just saying that you might benefit from some extra running Speedy,” Slade teased back.   
“Come on children, let us go have lunch.” Walter said, Shado and Sara giggled at the affronted looks Slade and Oliver gave Walter over being called children though they decided to not argue and the group walked towards the house. 

The rest of the group had a Caesar salad for lunch, with Slade, Oliver, Shado, Sara and Thea being served simple cut up fruit. Lance noticed and asked why there were two different meals.   
“Our stomachs can’t handle normal food at the moment, and Thea offered to eat the same as us until we got better as support.” Sara told him.   
“We could,” And before Lance got any further with his offer Sara cut him off.   
“It’s okay dad, we should be fine soon and just smelling it is enough at the moment.” Sara told him. They continued eating until Slade sniffed in deeply and then looked to Oliver.   
“You’re bleeding somewhere kid,” he told him. Oliver stood up and did a small twirl around, as he was still shirtless.   
“Nope, legs up,” Slade ordered. Oliver gave him his right foot first and they both noticed the blood at the same time. A fallen branch had cut him while running, as there was still a small wood splinter in the centre of the wound.   
“Shado can you grab some herbs, a bandage, a face washer and bowl of water?” Slade asked. Shado nodded and Tommy got up and followed her to everyone’s surprise. They came back and Tommy was carrying the bowl of water while Shado had the rest of the items. Slade quickly pulled out the splinter and cleaned off the excess blood and efficiently bandaged it. He then wiped his hands clean on another cloth Shado had thought to bring. Shado gave Oliver the pinch of herbs and he mixed them in his water and gulped it down fast.   
“What was that?” Lance asked not having seen the herbs before.   
“The herbs were planted by my father and he tended them. They were the only medicine the Island had to offer. Those herbs saved us from everything we caught or fighting off infections. Even saved Slade from malaria once.” Shado explained.  
“Malaria!” Lance exclaimed.   
“Even if it was malaria, which I am still doubtful about, it was a very mild easily treatable case.” Slade huffed.   
“Easily treatable my ass,” Oliver mocked. Oliver jabbed a finger at Slade’s chest. “You were the worst patient possible.”   
“Did you play nurse?” Tommy asked incredulously but then smiled suggestively.   
“Yes, and not the fun nurse either. Get your mind out of the gutter, there are children present,” Oliver scolded and Tommy actually looked slightly ashamed, “I had to keep his fever down and get him to drink the herb concoction. And let me tell you if you think Slade is stupidly stubborn now, it’s nothing compared to when he is sick. I had to literally wrestle him to force open his jaw so Shado could shove the drink down his throat while he was screaming bloody murder and all sorts of threats at us.” Oliver ranted.   
“Oliver had the patience of a saint to deal with him,” Shado agreed.   
“Tommy, I’m moving in with you if Slade ever gets sick,” Thea told him.   
“Agreed,” Tommy replied in slight awe.   
“I still say both of you are exaggerating,” Slade grumbled. They began eating their lunches again finishing this time. Lance was happy he had gotten the rest of the week off of work, he was so glad to be reunited with his daughter again, and every hour that passed he felt more grateful to Slade, Shado and even Oliver for protecting his girl. He could see that they had become a family of sorts while on the Island and he was happy that they had each other while they were stuck on that Island.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: 

After lunch Thea decided to remind Slade about sparring. She had enjoyed the lessons on the boat and wanted to learn more. Slade smiled at her enthusiasm.  
“You were never this happy to learn how to spar,” Slade reminded Oliver. Oliver poked his tongue at him and did some more stretching incorporating some yoga moves as he moved. Tommy and Lance watched amazed as Oliver grabbed his right leg and easily moved it behind his head and did repeated the same with his left leg. Oliver noticed.   
“It’s all Shado’s fault,” he explained as he bent down to grab four poles, handing two to Thea.   
“Yeah, Ollie can tie himself into knots doing yoga with Shado,” Thea said with a grin.   
“You wouldn’t believe how much his bones crack doing it though,” Sara added.   
“You’re all making me sound old,” Oliver complained.   
“It sounds horrible,” Thea said shaking her head in mock horror. Oliver immediately turned to Slade with a grin.   
“Please?” He pleaded. Slade grinned too and slowly began rotating his arms, soon from the flexing Slade was doing with his neck, arms, torso and legs he was creating a symphony from his joints cracking. Everyone looked in horror including Shado and Sara. When he was finished they immediately questioned him.   
“How did we not know you could do that?” Shado demanded.   
“Um, I for one am kinda glad I didn’t know he could do that until now,” Sara added.   
“I could of gone without that information for the rest of my life,” Lance agreed.   
“That felt good,” Slade said and Oliver gave him a quick grin in thanks. He looked down at Joe.   
“Did you want to learn how to spar as well?” Slade asked. Tommy stiffened and even Lance looked uneasy. Joe was just a young kid after all and this was learning how to fight with and without weapons.   
“Dad, you had me and Laurel enrolled in self defense classes at Joe’s age. This is no different.” Sara reminded him. Lance thought and realised Sara was right and gave Slade a small nod, he was still slightly uneasy. He had only enrolled his daughter’s because being a cop came with having people holding grudges and most of those people being criminals. Then he remembered Slade had been an ASIS agent and that probably came with it’s fair share of grudge holders too.   
“Yes please,” Joe replied not having seen the looks from Lance and Tommy. 

“Think I could join in, it would be interesting to see what you’re teaching compared to what we learn at the precinct?” Lance asked. Walter had joined in sparring the day before and so had already shed his jacket and was doing some simple stretches with Thea and Shado helping.   
“Of course, would you like to join in Tommy?” Slade offered not wanting him to be left out. He was Oliver’s other brother as Thea said, and this could be another way for Tommy and Oliver to re-connect.   
“Why not?” Tommy replied and took his jacket off and added it to the pile. Slade showed them a basic three-step move of stepping forward with your left foot, jabbing with your left hand and immediately using your right to shield the face from any responding attack. They all got it easily enough and after learning another three-step move combination more focused on defending, Slade paired them up with Tommy facing Thea, Lance with Sara, Walter with Oliver, Joe with Slade and Shado supervising. Once they did that for 10 minutes, Slade and Shado showed them a new set of combinations and they paired off again to practice them. They continued like that for an hour, and were on the 6th set of combinations when a voice startled them.   
“What are you all doing?” Malcolm asked.   
“Dad, don’t sneak up on us like that! And we’re sparring.” Tommy answered. Malcolm considered the answer and then smiled.   
“Those are very basic and sloppy combinations then,” he mocked. Slade bristled and so did Shado. They had come up with them based on Slade’s ASIS and army training and what Yao Fei had taught Shado growing up.   
“They saved our lives enough times,” Oliver retorted sensing his friends anger and hoped that Slade stayed silent otherwise Malcolm was in for an earful.   
“If you say so,” Malcolm replied with one eyebrow cocked as if to say that he didn’t believe him.   
“He did, and the only reason they aren’t going at each other like ninjas is because Slade offered to teach Detective Lance, Joe and me as well as the others. And I’ve learnt more about protecting myself in the last hour from Slade and Shado than I have in my whole life from you.” Tommy stated, he was already Oliver’s brother and therefore Thea’s and he knew Sara from before, but he already considered the others as close friends from all the video calls and today. He especially felt grateful towards Slade and Shado, as they hadn’t mocked him once as they corrected his stance or posture. His dad loved making fun of his failures, but the two of them had patiently explained what he was doing wrong and helped him correct it, as Slade and Joe had moved to spar beside him and Thea to provide extra help. Oliver had whined that Slade had never been that patient with him during training and Slade had reminded him that he had once Fyer’s and his men were gone from the Island. Oliver had looked slightly sheepish at that and didn’t reply.   
“Ninjas?” Shado asked amused.   
“Totally,” Oliver, Thea, Sara and Joe said together. Once they had realised they had all said it at the same time Oliver smiled, and the other three giggled. Slade rolled his eyes at them.   
“I would like to see that,” Malcolm stated, ignoring the rest of Tommy’s statement. Slade frowned at that and looked at Tommy, who shook his head as he was used to his dad ignoring him. Slade smiled as he suddenly had a good idea to get back at Tommy’s dad.   
“If you are so good you can spar with me then,” Slade said and then made a small show of flexing his upper body muscles and tensing his arm muscles. Tommy made a choked sound and then gave Slade a grateful and amused smile. Slade nodded back. Oliver on the other hand was seconds away from laughing. He had told Slade about how he and Tommy grew up and Slade had disliked Malcolm from the beginning and felt sorry for Tommy and now he was going to beat Malcolm up in revenge for leaving Tommy after his mum died. Slade always acted like he didn’t care, but Oliver knew better and he knew the man cared for Tommy already.   
Malcolm looked shocked for a split second but then composed himself. He shrugged and walked a few steps closer to Slade. Slade cocked an eyebrow in response to Malcolm’s advance but nonetheless took a fighting stance. The rest of the group backed up to give the two men space. Oliver and Shado were appraising Malcolm and at the same time they came to the conclusion either Malcolm was very cocky and believed he could win or he could fight well enough to believe he would win.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

They began hesitant strikes gaging each other’s strength and looking for weaknesses. Slade in true form decided to attack first and soon had Malcolm scrambling for defense to avoid being struck. Slade was impressed at Malcolm, the man was appearing to run and cower from attack but he was blocking each strike proficiently and his arm acted like steel, barely flinching when struck. The man had been trained by an expert, and was not far from the title himself.   
Oliver and Shado noticed too, with Sara beginning to see something wasn’t right either.  
“Shit,” Oliver swore, the rest of the group looked but Shado and Sara remained transfixed on the fight.  
“What?” Tommy asked worriedly, concerned for his father.  
“Your dad, he’s been trained. He’s just as good as Slade, maybe better,” Oliver stated.  
“Are you blind, Slade’s beating him up,” Lance scoffed.  
“Nope, look at him take the hits. Ignore the stupid facial expressions he’s pulling. Every time Slade lands a blow, it’s like he’s hitting a concrete wall or a big tree. Malcolm’s arms are not moving from the blows at all, if anything Slade is getting more pain from them than Malcolm is.” Oliver pointed out and the rest of the group focused on what Oliver was saying and watched in amazement as Slade struck again and Malcolm’s defending arm didn’t budge an inch and immediately struck out with a counter blow.  
Slade was getting tired, and so decided to use more advanced combinations he had learnt in his later years working for ASIS. Several quick combinations later and Malcolm was thrown to the ground and Oliver quickly took this opportunity to end the match.   
“Slade wins,” Oliver announced loudly. Slade looked over to Oliver, but Oliver quickly shook his head to tell the man not to argue. It was then the adrenaline began wearing off and he felt the aches throughout his arms and torso. He left Malcolm on the ground and walked over to the kid.  
“I have never seen anyone who fights like that,” Slade told them all quietly. Slade looked to Shado who gave a brief shake of her head to indicate she did not know either. Malcolm pretended to struggle to his feet and stumble over to the group.  
“Thank you for the help,” he said sarcastically. Tommy snorted and Malcolm glared at his son.  
“It’s not nice to be left behind, is it Dad?” Tommy questioned raising an eyebrow in challenge.  
“You really need to grow up Tommy,” Malcolm told him. Slade bristled along with Tommy and Oliver. Oliver however decided to do something about it and struck his fist out instantly and before Malcolm could even register the fist coming his way, Oliver had struck his right in the nose, breaking it. Blood splattered everywhere but Malcolm did not make a sound, though the majority of the group gasped.  
“He did grow up, he stayed like a man even though he was just a kid. He faced the media that hounded us for over that first year you were gone. The media that came back for every anniversary of her death. He is the only one that goes to her grave and puts flowers down. He is the only one that kept your house alive and when the board of Merlyn Global asked him to attend gatherings and balls because you were fuck knows where, he did. The way I see it, he is the man and has been since your wife died. You were the fucking coward who fled with his tail between his legs and left behind your child, who needed you more than ever. And you have no right to mock him or berate him, and if you try it again it won’t just be a broken nose you end up with.” Oliver growled and Slade nodded his approval and support. Shado and Sara also nodded giving their support to Oliver’s words. Thea walked over and stood beside Tommy and was soon joined by Walter, Lance and Joe. Tommy had tears silently running down his face, he was used to having Oliver to rely on, but then he went missing and he was alone again like he was right after his father left him. Now Oliver was back and he had come back with people he had told Tommy were family and they were standing with him like one.  
“Thank you,” Tommy whispered.  
“No worries little brother,” Oliver replied with a smile. Slade thought on that and then nodded to himself, which Oliver noticed.  
“What are you thinking of now?” Oliver asked.  
“Kid,” Slade said pointing at Oliver who nodded in response to his nickname, and then he pointed at Tommy, “little brother,” he said. Oliver grinned, as did Shado and Sara.  
“You’re really a part of the family now, if Slade has given you a nickname,” Shado told him.  
“What are yours then?” Lance asked them.  
“Sara is little bird and Thea is Speedy, even if she doesn’t like it much. I am still working on the rest,” Slade told them.  
“Shado doesn’t have one?” Tommy asked confused about why he would be given one before Shado.  
“I value my life,” Slade said simply much to the amusement of the others. While they were laughing, Slade noticed Malcolm slink away, moving with a grace and fluidity that made Slade think that the man was more dangerous than anyone was aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hint: Reviews would be lovely


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: 

The group enjoyed the rest of the day, with most of it spent sitting on the grass outside talking. Slade found out about everything that Joe had got up to and Oliver shook his head as Tommy told him what he had been up to. Walter and Shado discussed the possibility of continuing her pre-med career and Sara talked to her dad about joining the police force and more little stories about the Island. She wanted to help people and be close to her dad. Moira never returned home that night, but briefly called Walter to tell him she was staying with a friend for a few days. She had hung up the second after she told him and refused to answer any of his calls afterwards leaving Walter very confused and hurt. Walter had then offered for Tommy, Lance and Sara to stay the night. Tommy accepted easily. Lance was unsure, but after a blunt message from Laurel saying she wouldn’t be home because she was busy studying he decided one night wouldn’t hurt. His ex-wife was overseas and wouldn’t be due home for another few weeks, so it was just himself and Sara so they might as well stay with the group for another night. Sara winced when Lance relayed Laurel’s message. 

“She’s really angry at me, isn’t she?” Sara asked him.   
“I think it’s mostly shock,” Lance tried to tell her gently.   
“You should tell her to be angry at me and not at Sara. It was all my fault anyway,” Oliver said quietly. No one tried to correct him and the silence was deafening until Joe walked up to Oliver.   
“You made a mistake, I was always taught that if you make a mistake you apologize to the person and then they forgive you. Why don’t you say sorry to Laurel and make it better?” Joe asked. Oliver knelt down and thought of what to say.   
“It’s not that simple Joe. I was dating Laurel and very stupidly cheated on her with Sara. Mistakes happen by accident, I did this on purpose.” Oliver explained.   
“But I thought that Oliver was dead?” Joe replied.   
“He is, but Laurel doesn’t know that. And I hurt her a lot by cheating on her and it would of hurt more when Sara and I were thought to be dead. I caused her a lot of pain. Saying sorry isn’t going to cut it, but thank you for trying Joe,” Oliver said.   
“We could bake a cake, one of the older boys at the orphanage did that for his girlfriend when they were fighting and it made her happy,” Joe said brightly. Oliver realised that Joe wasn’t old enough to understand the severity of his actions and decided to go with the idea.  
“Why not? It can’t make things any worse, we can bake one tomorrow,” Oliver announced and Joe smiled.   
“Umm, Oliver do you know how to bake a cake because I don’t” Tommy reminded him.   
“Me either,” Thea added, Walter shrugged and Sara shook her head too. Slade and Shado looked incredulously at them.   
“You don’t know how to bake a cake?” Slade asked.   
“Nope, do you?” Oliver replied.   
“Yes I learnt in high school,” Slade said cockily and then realised what he admitted too as he saw Oliver’s jaw drop.   
“You took cooking classes?” Oliver asked shocked. Slade looked around and everyone else looked shocked with Shado looking amused. He tried glaring at the kid but it was too late to stop him.   
“I was required to take a home economics class in high school,” he slowly said hoping that would be the end of it.   
“Wait so you can sew and look after kids?” Sara asked incredulously. Oliver frowned as he thought of something, and then groaned.   
“We’re all idiots,” Oliver stated. They all looked at him confused.   
“Who was the best cook on the Island? The best at sewing wounds? Who had a kid waiting at home for him? Of course he must have learnt how to cook, sew and look after kids before the Island. Sorry Slade, I guess I just never gave it much thought before,” Oliver apologized, Slade nodded his acceptance, there had been many other things to focus on while they were stuck on Lian Yu. 

“Well I’m glad I have the week off now, I can help you out seeing as I know all Laurel’s favorites,” Lance offered. Raisa came in at that moment to inform them dinner was ready. Dinner was to be plain beef rissoles with a small salad for the group with the rest having steak and seasoned potato pieces. Oliver once again tried a rissole for the group, but the second it hit his stomach he heaved and was running out of the room to throw it up. Once he came back he noticed the crestfallen look on Raisa’s face.   
“It’s not your fault, there was probably too many chemicals and preservatives in the meat, it wouldn’t of been the way you cooked it Raisa,” Oliver told her. He then noticed Shado was gone.

“Where’s Shado?” he asked.   
“Gone hunting for our dinner,” Slade replied. Oliver and Lance frowned together.   
“Ah Slade, I don’t think that is entirely legal...” Oliver trailed off and Lance nodded his agreement.   
“Well we are not living on salads and oatmeal for the next month kid, we need the iron and protein that comes from meat. Especially with the two of us still recovering from the last beating, and me from Malcolm” Slade reminded him. Oliver sighed and sat down next to him, Lance raised an eyebrow in his direction.   
“Be my guest and try and argue with him. We all know Shado is too good to get caught, no offense to the Police Force. And even if she managed to be caught I will either bribe them or just pay the fine for her.” Oliver said.   
“Proof you haven’t changed as much as Sara says,” Lance scoffed as Oliver’s statement reminded him too much of the old playboy Oliver. Oliver looked hurt by this but quickly schooled his face blank.   
“Shado is family, you all are. I would do the same for Sara or you if something happened. On the Island money didn’t help at all. Slade was the most useful. Now we are home the game has changed slightly. Here money is useful, and I would prefer to use it to bribe people to keep us all-safe than have Slade have at them with his swords,” Oliver pointed out. Lance thought for a moment, and while he admitted to himself that he didn’t like what Oliver was saying, he had not just thrown around the fact he could bribe people but had thought ahead to how to keep everyone he considered family safe, including himself and his daughters. Lance decided to let the matter go, and just nodded at Oliver with the man giving him a small-relieved smile in response. It was just in time too, as Shado walked in carrying three dead birds.   
“Oh they look good,” Sara said causing everyone but Oliver, Slade and Shado to look at her in horror. Sara shrugged.  
“The birds were starving as much as we were in winter, these are good and fat,” she explained. She got up and walked around the table.   
“Its my turn to help Slade cook,” she told her dad before he asked. Lance contemplated that for a minute. Even though they were home they still worked as a group and shared responsibilities.   
“Can I watch?” Lance asked.   
“Sure,” Sara said and he followed the two of them into the kitchen after Slade had grabbed the birds off Shado. Slade gave one to her and a knife and watched her as she began gutting the animal. He corrected her gently a few times when the knife veered slightly off course. But he didn’t have to help her do the second and third and even began cooking some of the pieces Sara had cut on the fry pan. Once she cleaned her hands she went to stand by him again.   
“Isn’t that piece done?” she asked pointing to a browned piece in the corner. Slade gave a small smile and shook his head but still grabbed the piece out from the pan and put it on the chopping board. He gestured for her to cut it open. When she did she found most of it to be raw still. She put the piece back into the pan.   
“Sorry,” she apologized. Slade shook his head.   
“There is no need, we only cooked meat together not even a handful of times. You are still learning, little bird.” Slade told her. Sara gave him a grateful smile and Lance realised he was witnessing one of the moments Oliver and Sara had talked about before. The moments when Slade was kinder and went above and beyond his role as mentor. Slade could have just corrected her, but he let her check for herself and then encouraged her to keep questioning him and learning. Lance found himself liking Slade even more than he thought was possible for someone that was basically a stranger less than a fortnight ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are appreciated


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: I’m not sure how you guys are going to react to Lance’s bit in this chapter. So I want to explain my reasoning a bit here. In my fanfiction universe, I see Lance taking a path similar to Laurel’s in the show. Cutting corners during the job and then when that rebellion wasn’t enough, turning to drinking. And also at the moment, he thinks this is all hypothetical and just talk.

Chapter Sixteen: 

 

The three of them re-entered the dining room with Sara carrying the plate of the cooked bird pieces. She placed it in the middle of the table and her and Lance retook their seats on the other side with Slade sitting next to Oliver again. Oliver immediately grabbed a piece and within seconds swallowed it.   
“Calm down before you choke,” Shado reprimanded causing the majority of the group to chuckle.   
“This is brilliant Slade,” Oliver complimented as he reached for another piece.   
“Wasn’t me kid, I just advised. Thank Sara for the food. Though I do have to admit I am a very good teacher,” Slade told him. Sara gave Slade a grateful smile as the others complimented her cooking. Even Thea, Walter and Lance grabbed a piece to try.   
“This is actually really nice,” Thea said surprised and Walter nodded his head in agreement. Lance liked it too and thanked both Slade and Sara for cooking it. Tommy had taken the rissoles from the group’s plates so Raisa’s feelings wouldn’t be too badly hurt and had divided them with Lance, Walter and Joe, though he ended up with the majority and a bloated stomach.   
As they sat around and talked Tommy remembered he had his findings from the list in his pocket. He quickly dug it out.   
“Here man, from that list Thea sent me. Its all the shady stuff or stuff in general I could find out about them. Though only six of them came back with clean google results, personal and business wise.” Tommy told him as he handed over the list.   
“What list is this?” Lance asked confused. Oliver looked at Slade who shrugged his agreeance. They still hadn’t given much thought to the list in the book, so why not tell Lance about it.   
“My dad gave me this book before he died. Told me everyone in it had failed the city and that I needed to right his wrongs. So I asked Tommy to investigate the people listed in the book, see that wrongs they had supposedly done.” Oliver told him.   
“Can I see it?” Lance asked. Oliver nodded and quickly ran to his room to grab the book and ran back handing it over to Lance. Walter came over and read it over Lance’s shoulder.   
“This book is not familiar to me, but many of the people listed are. They all are either in business or have ties to business in Starling.” Walter informed them.   
“Not familiar to me either, but a lot of these people are known for breaking the law often, but they can afford the lawyers to ensure nothing sticks to their names,” Lance said grimly. Slade was reading through Tommy’s information with Shado and hummed his agreeance.   
“Some of this stuff is pretty serious. Like life in jail serious,” Slade noted.   
“Definitely fits in with them failing this city,” Shado agreed.   
“So what are we going to do?” Tommy asked.   
“Huh?” Oliver questioned.  
“About these people. Your dad wanted us to right his wrongs, and these people are it. So how are we going to do it?” Tommy clarified.   
“We?” Oliver asked amusedly.   
“One for all and all for one?” Tommy offered. Slade frowned.   
“I am not sure The Three Musketeers is any better than being called The Trio by Sara,” Slade said.   
“I like it,” Oliver grinned. Slade just rolled his eyes and went back to the list.   
“So all of these people have been above the power of the law and they continue to break it?” Shado asked. Lance reluctantly nodded in answer.   
‘We could scare them?” Tommy offered. Everyone turned to look at him.   
“Well I am just saying that if Slade approached me at night and told me to give back money I stole from people or to stop doing something I would probably do it. And shit myself at the same time. Most of these guys are successful business people. So millionaires and billionaires. Us basically. They probably wouldn’t miss giving pensioners back a couple thousand or spending several thousand on fixing the heating in apartment blocks. Give them a scare and I would bet at least half these guys immediately right their wrongs for you.” Tommy presented his plan.   
“Hypothetically, if I did scare some people, am I breaking the law?” Slade asked. They had no other plans at the moment, and there was truth to what Tommy said. If they were anything like Oliver was in the beginning, threaten them once and they would be throwing money at you begging you to stop.   
“You wouldn’t if you just talked. You can’t hurt them because that would be assault. You can’t threaten as that’s blackmail, and you can’t be seen obviously. If you do it frequently and they talk, then you would be classed as a vigilante and the Force would put out a warrant for you.” Lance told them. He had personally tried to convict over two dozen of the people listed and another approximate four dozen had been arrested but then let go by the Force in general over the past year. If a small scare would manage to do what he could not, and he was here to ensure it never went past just scaring then he was willing to consider it. He had been willing to consider many things after losing Sara; everyone on the Force knew he resorted to less than legal methods when hunting down the Dollmaker. People he had gone to question in relation to the murderer had come in cuffs to the Precinct bruised or bloody, sometimes both. No one had ever questioned it. He had learnt after that case talking with older Officers and Detectives that bending the rules was actually fairly common for Officers of the Law for the tougher cases. It was still hard for him to believe sometimes, but without his breaking rules, there would have been a good chance he would of never caught the Dollmaker. So maybe, with his supervision, this operation could be undertaken. Then he realised a flaw.   
“This works for those who scare easily, but what about those with ties to the mob and Triad? They aren’t going to give in to a few scary words spoken?” Lance reminded them. They all went silent as they thought of a solution.   
“ I know!” Thea exclaimed. They all looked at her.   
“Felicity! She can like spam them or something until they listen. She said she is the best person at anything to do with computers in the world,” Thea told them.   
Tommy chuckled at Thea’s words, it was an innocent suggestion. Oliver and Slade however were thinking.   
“You said she got satellite photos of the Island?” Slade asked. Walter nodded.   
‘She must be very skilled to hack a satellite,” Slade mused.   
“Felicity says hacking is an ugly word, you should say borrowing information instead,” Thea said as solemnly as a 12 year old could. Walter looked at his watch and startled at the time. It was almost midnight.   
“We should probably all get to bed and finish this discussion later,” he said. Everyone agreed and they all began climbing the stairs. They had all agreed to sleep on the second floor with the room ordering beginning with Tommy on the far left end, followed by Thea, then Joe, followed by Slade, Oliver, Sara, Shado, with Lance having the last room on the floor. Walter was sleeping in his and Moira’s room on the third floor. They all said their goodnights and went into their separate rooms. 

Oliver found himself unable to sleep and after an hour gave up and went into Slade’s room. He found the man on the right hand side of the bed with his left arm holding the sheet up for him. Oliver quickly climbed in and they were both soon asleep only to be woken less than an hour later by Sara’s screams. The both of them rushed to Sara’s room with Slade going inside and Oliver stopping Lance and the others from going in. He let Shado through though.   
‘Let me through,” Lance said. Oliver quickly shook his head.   
“Sara is no where near as violent as us, but a nightmare is nothing to be taken lightly. We all went through so much and our minds like to make us relive it as we sleep.” Oliver told him. Then Sara screamed again but this scream was familiar to him. As she screamed “Ollie,” he remembered as she called to him while she was being sucked into the waters as the Gambit sank. Lance noticed Oliver pale.   
“What?” he asked in a softer voice.   
“She’s remembering when the Gambit sunk,” Oliver said quietly expecting Lance to say something harsh, mean or both in return. Instead the man placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder and squeezed gently.   
“You brought her home to me, you protected her on the Island. I talked to Sara for a long time about this. She made me see that it was only partly your fault for being with her; that it wasn’t as if you forced her. It also wasn’t your fault the boat sunk either. But she told me that every second you guys were together on that Island you all made sure to keep her safe. And she demanded to know what mattered more to me, that the two of you had a quick fling behind Laurel’s back or that she was safe for that year. So at the moment you’re in my good books, but I am warning you this could change.” Lance told him quietly as Slade and Shado tried to wake up Sara. It seemed for a while that they couldn’t wake her up from the nightmare until she sat upright and screamed as she woke up suddenly. Shado immediately embraced her and repeatedly told her it was just a nightmare. Lance walked in to also comfort Sara. By this time everyone had gathered at the door, having being woken from Sara’s repeated screams. Tommy was particularly shocked and looked pale. Oliver gave a grim smile at that; maybe he would finally begin to see that year wasn’t as kind to them as he thought.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: 

The next morning saw Oliver awaken to Slade turning on the shower, the walls were thin and the noise of the water was loud enough. He quickly went back to his own room, had his own shower and dressed, walking out to find Slade in the hallway waiting for him. They were about to walk down to the ground floor when Joe’s door opened. Joe was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes when Slade picked him up.   
“What are you doing up so early?” Slade asked gently as he rubbed Joe’s back.   
“Had a dream that you were gone so I came to check,” Joe answered as he put his head down sleepily onto Slade’s shoulder and made himself comfortable.   
“I won’t be leaving ever again,” Slade replied. He looked at Oliver.   
“Do you mind if he comes too?” Slade asked, their morning sparring was something that just the two of them had done together since they had met. Oliver smiled and nodded and so the two of them, with Slade carrying a dozing Joe walked down the stairs. As they walked outside Oliver grabbed one of the pool lounge chairs and carried it to where Slade had stopped.   
“We will just stick with a run now, and do the push and sit ups after,” Slade announced. Oliver agreed and put down the chair and Slade put Joe on it.   
“You want to say ready set go?” Oliver asked. Joe nodded and watched as Slade and Oliver removed their tops and did their stretches. Soon Joe was saying go, and thirty seconds later Slade was speeding after him. This wasn’t a punishment run, so Slade wasn’t tagging Oliver, but Oliver was still making an effort to push himself to run faster so Slade didn’t catch up to him. Halfway through the second lap Slade caught up and they spent the rest of that lap and the third running side by side. After they caught their breath, they both wordlessly began doing their sit ups and push ups, with Joe having gone back to sleep curled up on the chair using Slade’s top as a blanket. 

Once they were finished, Slade carried Joe and Oliver carried the chair back to the house. When they went inside they found Shado, Sara, Lance and Thea had been watching them from the warmth of the house. They said their good mornings and went to the dining area. Oliver pulled out Slade’s chair for him and he sat down carefully arranging Joe so his head was now resting on his shoulder instead of his chest. They talked quietly until breakfast was served with Walter and Tommy arriving just as the meal was served. Slade gently shook Joe awake. Joe looked around gathering his bearings.   
“Good morning,” Joe said. Everyone replied and Shado placed Joe’s bowl of cereal in front of him so he could stay seated on Slade. The rest of the team watched as Oliver took a mouthful of the cereal and waited. He nodded to the rest of the team to indicate that his stomach was accepting it. The rest of them began eating. As Raisa came in to collect the empty dishes Oliver asked if she could come back after she was finished loading the dishwasher.   
“Would you be able to go to into the city and get the ingredients for a cake we are making today?” Oliver asked. Raisa frowned.   
“It’s I don’t want to face the press yet, I don’t think any of us are ready to be honest,” Oliver explained. Raisa’s frown softened.   
“It is not that Oliver, I can make the cake for you, like I used to before,” Raisa said.   
“It’s not that I don’t want you to, but it’s an apology to Laurel, and it would mean more if I baked it than got you to do it for me,” Oliver told her. She nodded and smiled.   
“What ingredients am I getting?” She asked. Oliver looked clueless and looked at Lance and Sara.   
“What’s her favourite cake?” he asked. Sara snorted and Lance looked disapprovingly.   
“You don’t know?” he asked. Oliver held up his hands in surrender.   
“She barely ate when she was with me,” Oliver stated. Slade and Tommy snorted and Shado shook her head. Oliver went red and ducked his head when he clicked to what the implications of what he said were. He hesitantly looked up at Lance and Sara to see her struggling not to laugh and Lance with the same look of disapproval.   
“So, that is not what I meant at all. Really. I swear. When I say she barely ate, it’s because every time we went somewhere or did something she would say she just ate, or that she wasn’t hungry, or that she was watching her figure. That’s what I meant,” Oliver explained. Lance looked happier and nodded at him.   
“She still does that,” he said. Shado frowned at that.   
“Just for future reference when our stomach’s get better, check to see if I am sick if I ever say no to food. The place I grew up in, it was an insult to say no to food and even worse to starve yourself to look better. I know it is different here and maybe it is different for those higher in society where I lived, but my father raised me to eat everything I was given and not to obsess about my looks.” Shado told them.   
“He raised you to be a ninja instead,” Tommy pointed out.   
“He succeeded for both Shado and I,” Oliver pointed out. Tommy frowned.  
“Your father was on the Island with you all?” Tommy asked. Shado nodded shortly and looked down staring at the table, obviously remembering her father. Thea put a hand over Shado’s hand and gently squeezed in support. Shado gave her a brief smile in return.   
“Yao Fei, Shado’s father was the first person I met on the Island, he saved my life and rescued me from Fyer’s when I was close to death after the days of torture. He nursed me back to health and taught me the basics of how to defend myself. He then risked his own life on many occasions to save Slade, Shado and myself. Fyer’s killed him and we buried him next to my father on the Island.” Oliver explained. Tommy looked ashen and focused on Shado.   
“Shado, I am so sorry. I didn’t know,” Tommy trailed off creating an uncomfortable silence.   
“Yao Fei is honored through our memories, and now he can be furthered honored through you, and everyone that knows of him and the sacrifices he made.” Slade told them, and Shado gave him a grateful look and nodded her agreement to Slade’s statement.   
“Red Velvet used to be her favourite,” Sara told Oliver in an attempt to change the subject. Lance nodded his agreeance, Oliver looked to Raisa and she gave him a smile and walked out the door. After a while more of talking between everyone, Slade helped Joe off his lap and stand up.   
“We can get some stuff ready while we are waiting. Speedy can you find me a recipe for the cake?” Slade asked, as everyone followed him into the kitchen.   
“Sure,” Thea said immediately searching using the Internet on her phone.   
“Oliver can you get me a cake tin,” Slade asked. Oliver looked floored as he looked around the kitchen; he side glanced at Thea and Walter who both shrugged at him. None of them knew where stuff was located in the kitchen, as Raisa never let them in it. Oliver opened the first cupboard to find glasses, the second to find wine glasses, the third to find champagne flutes. He continued to open every cupboard they had in search of a cake tin, while everyone watched in amusement. Finally, in the third last cupboard Oliver found cake tins. He grabbed all seven of them and held them up triumphantly.   
“Which one?” Oliver asked with a grin. Slade shook his head but looked this tins over and picked a medium size circle one. Thea came up and showed him a recipe. Slade quickly glanced through it, the measurements and directions sounded correct to him as far as his memory served.   
Raisa walked in at that moment carrying three shopping bags full. Shado helped her set the ingredients out on the bench. Slade quickly did the mental calculations from what the recipe asked for and what was in front of him.   
“You got triple of everything, why?” Slade asked.   
“In case of mistakes,” Raisa replied with a small smile, Oliver frowned.   
“I am not that bad at cooking!” Oliver exclaimed.   
“Well I guess we will see then,” Lance said. Oliver nodded; he was determined to make the best Red Velvet cake in the world.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: 

“First up you need to measure out all the ingredients you’re going to use,” Slade instructed. Thea showed him the recipe and he carefully got the right proportions of everything he needed. Slade nodded his approval. The rest of the group watched as Oliver very carefully and therefore very slowly followed the recipe step by step with minimal assistance from Slade. 

Lance rang Laurel once the cake was in the oven to ask if she could come over for just lunch, knowing she wasn’t ready for a proper sit down. She agreed but reminded him that she wouldn’t be able to stay long, and promised to be at the Queen Mansion for 12. 

While Oliver and Slade were making the icing for the cake, Shado and Sara took the others out for sparring. Once the cake was iced and put in a cake container to keep it fresh, Slade and Oliver came and joined in. This was how Laurel found them, having searched the house to see them from the second story window. She walked out and heard Tommy call over to Oliver and a man.   
“You should totally give us a proper demonstration while we take a break,” Tommy suggested. Oliver shrugged to the man, who in turn adopted an offensive fighting stance and a few seconds later Oliver struck out with his left fist but was blocked by the man only to fling his right leg up aiming for the man’s groin. The man dodged this by jumping back and then began attacking Oliver. Laurel temporarily forgot how angry she was at Oliver, he was being beaten up by this man and no one was doing anything to stop it. She stormed up to the group.   
“Stop it,” she shouted. Everyone froze, including Oliver who was in the middle of trying to land a roundhouse kick on Slade. He began wobbling as he attempted to maintain his balance, and then gave up and put his foot down. 

“Laurel, I missed you, how have you been?” Sara said approaching her sister.   
“Fine, like the both of you apparently were. A deserted island to yourselves for almost a year, must have been paradise.” Laurel snapped. Oliver and Sara winced, but both Slade and Shado’s jaws tightened in anger.   
“What part of full of mercenaries didn’t you understand from the phone call?” Thea retorted, still angry at the fact Laurel had played the call off as a prank.   
“They look fine,” Laurel snapped back, and as Slade and Oliver hadn’t taken their shirts off this time as they knew Laurel was coming and didn’t want to scare her, they probably all did look fine.   
“You’re very shallow and mean,” Joe stated adopting the ‘Slade’ glare. Laurel in turn glared back at Joe, which made Slade get even angrier.   
“Don’t you dare glare at my son,” Slade growled, stepping protectively in front of Joe. Tommy decided to try and diffuse the situation, quickly before it got any worse. 

“Hey, let’s just calm down for a second. First of all Sara and Oliver are both very sorry for what they did. They know it was wrong and are going to apologize, Oliver even baked you a cake. Second of all, everything Oliver said in the phone call was true, the Island wasn’t paradise it was purgatory. They aren’t fine either; Oliver, Sara, Shado and Slade are covered in scars, physically and mentally. Now I’m not saying you have to forgive them right now, but everyone being civil to each other would be a good start. Okay?” Tommy asked her. Laurel still looked angry but gave a short nod in reply. Slade however still looked murderous, with his glare still focused on Laurel, which Tommy noticed.   
“Slade, I promise you she won't be mean to Joe again, could you please tone down the glare?” Tommy asked. Slade considered it, but decided it would probably be for the best if he agreed otherwise Oliver and Sara would lose their chance to apologize.   
“Alright little brother, but she better play nice from now on,” Slade replied. Tommy grinned when Slade called him little brother. Laurel frowned and was about to ask why Slade was calling Tommy his brother but Oliver interrupted.   
“I made you a cake. Your favourite, Red Velvet. And I wanted to say that the Oliver and Sara that made that stupid mistake, they died when the boat went down. We all went through a lot on Lian Yu, and I’m not saying you didn’t have a hard time either, but we both learnt the value of true friendship. And I learnt that I never treated you the way you deserved to be treated. I want to ask a favor though, hate me if you need to blame someone but don’t hate Sara. She was young and naïve and I exploited that, it was my fault she was on that boat, not hers. So please don’t blame her, she missed you everyday we were gone. Now that we are finally back, please don’t remove her from your life. You’re sisters, you should always be there for each other. I’m sorry for everything Laurel” Oliver told her. Laurel seemed to hesitate for a moment, torn between emotions, and then she looked at Oliver with a glare.   
“Why would I blame her, she was only fell for the same trap I did,” Laurel snarled and then turned around and walked away from the group. 

Shado snorted in disgust and everyone turned to look at her.   
“She would not have survived ten minutes on the Island, I am glad it was Sara you were with, I think I might have pushed Laurel off a cliff within the first hour of meeting her,” Shado said. Slade shrugged his agreeance, but Lance looked shocked and then angry.   
“Laurel is my daughter,” he began but Slade cut him off.   
“Whom we can tell only after five minutes can’t follow orders, doesn’t respect the chain of command, is prideful and more importantly holds grudges. If Oliver and I, and then the four of us later on did not work perfectly as a team, we would of died. Grudges and pride always break a team apart.” Slade explained. The rest were quiet as they thought on Slade’s words and realised how true and important they were, especially when the four of them were on the Island. Slade noticed the subtle signs that indicated Sara was sad and walked over and put an arm over her shoulders and squeezed gently.   
“Would some entertainment make you feel better?” he asked. Sara shrugged half-heartedly.   
“It’s been awhile since Oliver did some yoga,” Slade reminded her. Sara smiled as Thea laughed and Oliver groaned.   
“You take pleasure out of torturing me, I swear you do,” Oliver stated as he pulled of his shirt throwing it at Slade.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

That afternoon saw them all in the living room with Joe curled into Slade’s side on a couch, Thea curled into Oliver’s side opposite them on another couch and Sara sitting beside Lance with the rest of the group spread out on different couches. Tommy had gone home briefly to grab some more clothes as he had ran out of fresh clothing. But before he had left they had all ate a piece of the cake Oliver baked, and surprisingly it was very good.   
“Dad,” Sara starts hesitantly.   
“Yes,” Lance replies, twisting his head slightly to look at his daughter.   
“Would we be able to stay here again tonight?” Sara asked. Lance looked over to Walter.   
“You may stay for as long as you want, we have plenty of room,” Walter offered. Lance still hesitated though.   
“You can’t avoid home forever sweetie, and Laurel as well,” he told her. Sara watched as Thea mouthed ‘yes you can’ from Oliver’s side and gave the girl a quick grin in thanks.   
“It won't be forever, but until my nightmares get less violent I want to stay here. And today proved Laurel needs a lot more time to come to terms with us being back,” she told him.   
“Okay then, we can stay another night,” he agreed. 

Tommy walked through the door at that moment.   
“Look who I found,” Tommy announced with Moira walking in behind him. The whole room was silent for a moment, but it was soon broken when Slade stood up, walked over and offered his hand to Moira to shake. She took it hesitantly.   
“It is very nice to meet you in person finally Mrs. Queen,” Slade greeted.   
“And you are?” She asked.   
“Slade Wilson, and over there is my son Joe. I was on the Island with Oliver, Sara and Shado,” Slade briefly explained.   
“I am Shado, it is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Queen, As Slade said I was also on the Island,” Shado said introducing herself and also walking over to shake Moira’s hand. Shado moved over as Oliver approached. He silently embraced his mother in the first hug they had shared in almost a year.   
“I missed you so much,” Oliver whispered. Moira tightened the hug in response but her facial expression didn’t change. Eventually they ended the hug and Oliver joined Thea back on the couch, Moira sitting next to Walter.   
“I visited Malcolm when I arrived back in Starling. He has just finished telling me that your new friend was responsible for the bruising that is covering his face and torso, and his nose is broken. He said you assaulted him Oliver, and I would like to know what you are doing in my home Mr. Wilson, because I do not appreciate what you did to Malcolm, who has been a very dear friend to this family for many years,” Moira stated. Slade immediately went to answer but Walter put his hand out to stop him. Slade shut his mouth and Walter turned to face Moira.   
“First of all I was there during the supposed assault. Slade and Malcolm were sparring, Malcolm agreed to it and managed to hurt Slade more than Slade managed to hurt Malcolm. Second, Slade and Joe are here because Oliver and myself have invited him to live with us. Slade and Oliver became very close on that Island, and it is partially thanks to Slade that Oliver and Sara are alive and with us now. Malcolm also verbally abused Tommy multiple times, with Oliver breaking Malcolm’s nose in response. And if he hadn’t of done it, there would have been plenty of people who would have instead, myself included.” Walter told her. Moira looked outraged.   
“Oliver would of never broken anyone’s nose before, it is obvious Slade is a bad influence and I want him gone now Walter,” Moira told him, seemingly forgetting that the rest of the group, including Oliver and Slade was still in the room.   
“The Oliver you knew died on that Island, Mum, and you better learn to accept it,” Thea told her. Moira narrowed her eyes at her daughter and then got up and walked out of the room. Oliver looked guilty.   
“Can you please not mention anything else I did, or the others did on Lian Yu to her please?” Oliver pleaded.   
“Sure, especially if that is the way she is going to act over a well deserved broken nose,” Lance replied, with the others nodding. 

“Kid,” Slade began quietly, but Oliver stopped him by putting his hand over Slade’s mouth. Slade cocked an eyebrow in response.   
“I know exactly what you are going to say next, and no I do not want you to go anywhere. Forget my Mum, she just needs time to adjust. You and Joe are part of this family, just as much as Thea and Walter are, just as much as Shado, Tommy, Sara and Detective Lance are. We both know the only bad influence in the group is me anyway,” Oliver finished with a small grin. Slade grinned too and gently pulled back to remove himself from Oliver’s hand.   
“Are you remembering that time with Billy?” Slade asked.   
“Yep,” Oliver replied.   
“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Thea asked. The two of them turned to the others with an identical grin on their faces.   
“You haven’t heard this one yet Sara, nor you Shado,” Slade said. The two of them immediately looked more interested.   
“So it was before you two came into the picture, Fyer’s had just captured us again,” Oliver began.   
“Was this a weekly occurrence with you two?” Lance asked. Slade looked affronted.   
“The bit of the Island that we stuck to was only so big, and when Fyer’s wanted some entertainment, he would just send dozens of soldiers to find us,” Slade explained.   
“But why didn’t you explore the rest?” Tommy asked confused. Oliver and Slade froze for a second.   
“Slade’s maps from ASIS showed that the rest of the Island was covered in land mines,” Oliver quickly made up to salvage their lie that the Island was so big that they hadn’t managed to find Sara until she stumbled upon them and that she had been wandering it for months. The others nodded accepting it, but Walter and Thea looked skeptical, but decided not to question them.   
“So anyway, we were marched into the camp and our hands were tied and then attached to a pole above us so we were outstretched. And then Wintergreen came up and circled behind us, and just stopped there. Trying to make us further shit ourselves. But I was in a pretty annoyed mood that day, and being kidnapped so the two of us could be tortured to provide entertainment to a bunch of mercenaries may have pushed me over the edge.” Oliver told them, with Slade snorting at the last statement.   
“May have pushed you over the edge, one minute you looked scared at the fact Billy was behind us and the soldiers and Fyer’s were all standing around in front of us ready for Billy to begin, and then you got this really devious look on your face. And you turned your head slightly to look at Billy and then turned to look at me. And then you said to me, “did you know that Billy’s gay?” and I may admit my jaw may have dropped in response to it but you just continued on and said, “he has to be gay, he’s been staring at our arse’s way too long for it to be anything else,” and I may have been still in shock at that point, but then Billy actually roared as he raised the whip to hit us, and Oliver pushed out his arse and wiggled it. Stopped Billy dead in his tracks, and his jaw dropped. And then all the mercenaries’ began laughing at Billy. And soon they started whispering that Billy was gay, it was brilliant.” Slade told them, with everyone laughing by the end.  
“Only you would stop yourself from being tortured by hitting on someone Queen,” Lance remarked jokingly. Oliver shrugged.   
“What can I say, my arse is just that great,” Oliver said and outstretched his arm for Slade to hi-five.   
“Not happening kid,” Slade said, but Joe reached out and hi-fived Oliver.   
“A Wilson that can hi-five, I thought you said there was no such thing, Slade,” Oliver teased. Shado and Sara laughed having heard Slade state that many times, as Slade narrowed his eyes at Oliver.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: 

The middle of the night saw everyone woken by Oliver’s screams. Slade was the first one out of the bed, confused momentarily as Oliver wasn’t next to him. Then he remembered Oliver had told him that he needed to start getting used to sleeping alone again now they were home and safe. Slade bolted into Oliver’s room and cursed quietly as he took in Oliver thrashing on his bed. The nightmare was a very bad one.   
“Stop hurting me, I don’t know who the man is, please, you have to believe me!” Oliver screamed, still trapped in the nightmare. Slade cursed again as he realised Oliver was dreaming about the first time he was tortured. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that everyone was awake and standing in the doorway, having learnt from Sara last night not to approach.   
Slade hesitantly approached Oliver and quickly reached out to shake his shoulder, but was met with a fast and powerful backhand in the face from Oliver upon contact.   
“Oliver!” Moira shouted, Slade turned and noticed that Walter, Lance and Shado were restraining the woman from coming into the room.   
“Kid, wake up. It’s just a nightmare,” Slade told him as he quickly shook Oliver’s shoulder again, moving before Oliver could hit him again. Oliver froze in the middle of his nightmare and Slade took advantage of it. He quickly grabbed both of Oliver’s arms and leant over so he was face to face with him. 

“Oliver, wake up!” Slade said louder. Oliver eyes flew open and then he sat straight up, his head colliding with Slade’s resulting in a loud thump and a groan from the both of them. Slade heard laughter and turned his head around to see Shado and Sara giggling.   
“I’m glad you think this is funny,” Slade grumbled. Oliver still looked dazed.   
“You had a nightmare kid,” Slade explained. Oliver nodded absently and then looked closer at Slade’s face.   
“Your left eye is swollen,” Oliver stated. Slade grimaced as he gently felt the area, he could tell it had only just began swelling.   
“That would be from your backhand,” Sara told him as the group began coming into Oliver’s room.   
“I hit you?” Oliver asked, Slade nodded and in return Oliver looked devastated.   
“You were dreaming about Billy torturing you kid, of course you lashed out. It’s not your fault.” Slade told him reassuringly.   
“But what if it wasn’t you that came in here, what if it was Thea or Mum? I could of hurt them a lot worse than I hurt you,” Oliver trailed off and his gaze lowered to his lap in shame.   
“Move over,” Slade ordered. Oliver wordlessly obeyed and soon Slade was under the covers with him.   
“Yours is harder than mine, I think our sleepovers will occur in here from now on,” Slade stated. Oliver gave a small grin, with it widening as Joe scrambled up and sat down in the space between them. Sara and Shado exchanged a glance and quickly left only to return a minute later carrying the mattress from Slade’s room. They put it on the floor and left, only to return with another mattress and another until the floor was covered with mattresses with blankets and pillows. 

“You guy’s don’t have to do this,” Oliver started as they all began to get comfortable on their makeshift beds. Moira was still standing up, though Walter had chosen a mattress next to Lance’s.   
“Exactly, Oliver is right, there is no need for this,” Moira stated.   
“It’s called support mum, I know it’s a pretty foreign concept for you but I’m sure you should understand the basics,” Thea retorted. Slade raised an eyebrow in response to the bite that had accompanied Thea’s jab at Moira.   
“And what is that supposed to mean Thea?” Moira snapped.   
“You know that she is referring to you taking a page out of my dad’s parenting handbook,” Tommy told her meeting her glare with his own.   
“Your father loves you Tommy, just as I love Thea,” Moira stated. Oliver frowned at the lack of his name, and tried to blink back the tears that had formed in his eyes without his consent. Slade noticed, and was shocked. Oliver was obviously still emotionally unstable from the nightmare and his mother forgetting his existence had obviously tipped him over the edge. Slade reached over Joe and placed his hand on Oliver’s shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze in support. Oliver looked over shocked. Slade gave him a reassuring smile.   
“I’ll deal with it kid,” Slade told him, and before Oliver could reply Slade leveled a glare of epic proportions at Moira. Oliver smiled gratefully knowing Slade would of just yelled or beaten up anyone else, but was trying to play nice for Oliver’s sake, well as nice as Slade could get when he was pissed. 

“You should probably stop why your ahead Moira, you have already made everyone in the room mad, and Slade looks like he is ready to murder you,” Lance told her as he noticed the glare Slade was leveling at the woman.   
“So I am not wanted in my own home then, but strangers are welcome?” Moira asked. Walter stood.   
“No one is saying that, but Oliver and the others went through a lot, and they need everyone’s support as they adjust to being back home. Something I have explained to you multiple times through voice mail as you refused to answer my calls. Oliver needs you to be supportive Moira, and all you have done is ignore the others and me as well as verbally assault Slade, who Oliver considers a brother and support Malcolm instead of Tommy, when we all know Malcolm is one of the worst fathers in the world. You know that I was already one of Robert’s best friends before Malcolm left. I recall every conversation Robert had about Malcolm after he left Tommy by himself, and Robert was appalled. You cannot say that Malcolm truly loves Tommy after what Malcolm has done over the years, and we both know you abandoned Thea while you were dealing with your grief. No one in this room is perfect, but you are the only one not trying to improve, and that is why you are feeling like you are not wanted.” Walter told her. 

Moira just stood there, torn with the decision of whether to admit she was in the wrong or to stand firm with what she said and then she noticed Oliver had no top on. She saw the scars that covered his torso and something inside her crumbled under the weight of the secrets and knowledge she held, the guilt she was now feeling was overwhelming her.   
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, turned and fled out of the room. Walter looked torn, as he tried to decide to go after her or stay and support his children and people he considered family.   
“Mum just needs time Walter, she is too stubborn, so when she realises when she is wrong, she needs time alone to process it,” Oliver told him quietly.   
“I wish I had your optimism about her Ollie,” Thea remarked.   
“I see it as I’ve survived so much worse than this. That if I managed to get through all that, then I can be patient enough for her to see she is wrong,” Oliver said quietly.   
“Can we go to sleep now?” Joe asked with a yawn. He was met with quiet chuckles from the group as Tommy, who was closest to the light switch turned it off and Oliver laid back smiling briefly as he felt Joe roll onto his side to snuggle into Slade, and closed his eyes hoping for no more nightmares to haunt him tonight.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: Primary School is from Years 1-6 in Australia and approximately from ages 6-11.

Chapter Twenty-One: 

Another two days passed, spent catching up and adjusting to being back in Starling City. The swelling in Slade’s eye had gone and he was thankful that it hadn’t turned into a black eye. It had been peaceful in the Queen Mansion until the mention of school was brought up when Thea’s report card arrived. She had failed or barely scraped through all her subjects. Slade and Oliver were currently reading through it together while Walter was admonishing Thea in true parental fashion. 

“Ollie got worse than that every year and no one ever cared,” Thea told Walter. Slade raised an eyebrow at Oliver who nodded sheepishly. Slade sighed and looked up.   
“We can improve this together,” Slade told her.   
“Like a team?” Thea answered back sarcastically. Slade nodded, ignoring the sarcasm.   
“Exactly, between all of us here, we should be able to get you through everything. I am very good at geography, mathematics and physical education myself,” Slade told her.   
“I always kicked arse in English and History,” Sara offered.   
“I can speak Japanese and Chinese, and excel at biology and mathematics,” Shado added. They all looked at Oliver then, waiting to see what he would add to the team.   
“I did very well in my History SAT, I actually got more than Laurel did, and I am average or just above average with English and French,” Oliver told them proudly.   
“I remember that, Laurel sulked for like a week straight when the results came out,” Sara remembered with a grin.   
“Okay, well I am doing Chinese as my language, so Shado can help me with that, and you’re right between everyone all my subjects are covered.” Thea admitted.   
“I don’t expect perfect grades Thea, and I know how hard this past year has been, but now with us all back together hopefully we can move forward and look to the future,” Walter said with a smile. Thea nodded in return. 

“So speaking of the future, what will you be doing now you are home Oliver,” Moira asked as she walked into the room. Oliver froze and answered her honestly.   
“I haven’t given it any thought at all, my main goal for the past year was to get off Lian Yu, never really thought beyond that,” Oliver told her.   
“I would like you to think about joining Queen Consolidated,” Moira said. Oliver immediately winced, and Lance looked at him in sympathy. He knew from when Laurel and Oliver were just friends in primary school, Oliver’s parents had already planned his future out for him.   
“I was actually thinking about that Moira,” Walter began. Oliver looked towards his stepfather.   
“I was thinking two days a week, Oliver could accompany me, and Slade too if he wished and learnt about business from me. Shado could return to pre-med under a Queen Consolidated scholarship I can arrange, and Sara can be given a scholarship to pay for her expenses while doing her training to become a Police Officer.” Walter explained his plan. Oliver thought on it, two days a week and he would be with Walter and Slade, it was worth giving it a go.  
“Do you think I could join in?” Tommy asked.   
“Of course,” Walter said. Oliver looked to Slade who nodded.   
“Count me and Slade in too, thank you Walter,” Oliver said.   
“Where will I be going to school?” Joe asked. Thea slung an arm around his shoulders.   
“You are coming with me, my school does all the years so we won’t be separated at all until I graduate high school,” Thea told him.   
“Will they let them interact because of the age gap?” Slade asked. 

“Does the school need a new building?” Oliver queried. Ignoring the looks from the others he focused on Thea as she thought about the school.   
“I think they were looking at putting solar panels up and a water tank,” Thea responded.   
“Done, we can call them later” Oliver told her. Thea smiled and nodded.   
“Why does it sound like you have done this before?” Lance asked.   
“Because we have, when Thea first started she was bullied a lot. Teachers were useless and so were certain others, so Tommy and I went to the principal and offered to use some of the money in our trust funds to build a new library for the school if they let us go sit with her during lunch and recess until the bullying stopped. He agreed of course, so I’ll pay for the solar panels and water tank if Thea can spend her breaks with Joe until he settles in and have a clause in there for him to be able to go to her if he needs anything for the rest of their school years,” Oliver explained.   
“Just how big are your trust funds?” Shado asked. Oliver shrugged and looked at Tommy who shrugged in response, and the both of them looked at Thea who shrugged too. Slade snorted at them.   
“Do you have enough money to get me a Lego set to play with?” Joe asked.   
“How much longer are the holidays?” Oliver asked Thea.   
“Two weeks,” Thea answered.   
“We are going to have to face the world sooner or later, so how about tomorrow we go shopping. Get us some clothes that fit and you some toys and games,” Oliver said.   
“You want me to check if our usual bodyguards are available?” Tommy asked.   
“Yes please, and ask if they know anyone else, I think about ten in total will do,” Oliver said.   
“Why do we need bodyguards?” Slade asked.   
“Because, first there are going to be hundreds of reporters that are going to swarm us the second we leave these walls. Second, we can’t retaliate at all, no matter what they do or say. Third, these guys have been pushing the reporters away from us since we were kids, Tommy and I trust them. Fourth, they don’t care that Joe and Thea are kids, or about our health, they will push, shout, threaten, swear, basically do anything to try and get a story out of us. And we can’t let them. We have to ignore them and go about our business,” Oliver explained then looked at Tommy.   
“See if Luke and Sam want a full time job when you call them,” Oliver asked.   
“Joe?” Tommy queried, Oliver nodded in response.   
“Seriously?” Slade asked looking slightly perplexed, Oliver turned to Thea.  
“Can you bring up the footage of just after Tommy’s mum died, when the two of us were leaving after the funeral finished?” Oliver asked. Thea nodded and grabbed her laptop from the lounge room where she left it and searched for the video. She turned the laptop around and the group crowded around so they could see the screen. Oliver, Tommy and Lance held back, as all three of them still clearly remembered that day. 

The video began playing, showing Oliver and Tommy standing next to the fresh grave of his mother and then walking off towards the car, within five steps the two of them were suddenly surrounded by at least 20 reporters and camera crew. The group watched in disbelief as the reporters shouted question after question at them, shoving the mics in their faces and shoving and grabbing the younger Tommy and Oliver to get them into the camera frame better. It was stopped when Lance, who had attended with Laurel as they were all friends even then and had met Mrs. Merlyn several times for play dates and school assemblies, pushed two reporters aside to get to the boys, with Tommy still in tears from the service and Oliver not looking much better and shielded them as he got them to their waiting car at the end of the video. 

It was silent for a moment as they looked at the dark screen.   
“Shit,” Slade said quietly.   
“Tommy and I are used to it, Thea mostly. But this is going to be very new and frightening especially for Joe. And we have no clue how this is going to go for us either, and I suspect it won’t be well. So the extra bodyguards until we adapt to this, are going to be necessary,” Oliver said.   
“And you said it is going to be worse than this when we leave tomorrow?” Shado asked.   
“Definitely, the press have been given no details apart from Walter’s short statement saying that Oliver has been found alive and well. They are going to be out for blood to get the scoop of the year,” Tommy told them.   
“Which means you need to be on your best behaviour Slade,” Oliver teased and Slade cocked an eyebrow in response causing everyone to laugh lightening the mood.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Oliver’s screams once again woke Slade up that night, but Oliver woke up as Slade ran into the room.   
“Billy,” Oliver explained. Slade sighed and got into the empty side of the bed.   
“Billy is more of a pain in our arse’s dead than he was alive,” Slade complained.   
“Do you need anything?” Thea asked, her hair a matted clump indicating she had been tossing and turning most of the night.   
“Can’t sleep?” Oliver asked. Shado, who had just appeared looking just as tired, peered down at Thea.   
“Bags under your eyes at this age, what is troubling you?” she asked Thea.   
“I keep having the same dream, Walter and I got the Island too late. You were all dead.” Thea said quietly. Oliver immediately went to get up and go to Thea but a short shake of Shado’s head stopped him.   
“You can come sleep with me tonight, see if that helps keeps the dreams away,” Shado offered, Thea nodded in agreeance, too tired to answer.  
“No one else got up?” Slade asked, wondering where everyone else was.   
“Oliver wasn’t as loud as he usually is, and we are all tired. Especially the others now they are training,” Shado explained.   
“I didn’t actually hear you, I heard Slade slam the door open,” Thea confessed. Slade snorted and Oliver felt happy that he didn’t wake everyone.   
“Good night,” Slade said as he got himself comfortable, with Oliver mirroring the action. Oliver, Shado and Thea said their good nights and the two left and Oliver and Slade just lay down in silence for a while.   
“Do you ever think I’ll be free of them?” Oliver asked. Slade knew he was asking about the nightmares, Oliver had asked the same question many times on Lian Yu.   
“I don’t know kid, we can only hope so,” Slade answered, the answer not changing from the last time or any time he was asked that question.   
“Night Slade,” Oliver murmured.   
“Night kid,” Slade whispered as he fell asleep. 

“Should we wake them up?” Tommy asked that morning in Oliver’s room. Oliver and Slade were still asleep and it was almost 9 in the morning.   
“Let them sleep, Oliver had another nightmare last night” Shado said.   
“Geez, Queen doesn’t catch a break does he?” Lance said sympathetically.   
“What are you doing?” Moira asked as she walked in, looking at the group. Walter had gone into Queen Consolidated early that morning to get the ball rolling for the scholarships and the internships for the group and she was joining him for lunch later.   
“Slade,” Oliver groaned, barely awake. The rest of the group froze.   
“Hmm,” Slade groaned mostly asleep himself.   
“Make them go away,” Oliver whined as he pulled the blanket over his head in an attempt to go back to sleep and block the noise. Shado and Sara laughed.   
“Go away,” Slade grumbled, still trying to go back to sleep.   
“But dad we are going shopping today remember?” Joe reminded him. Slade opened his eyes to see everyone standing in the room, most of them still eating their breakfast or drinking coffee. Slade sighed and sat up.   
“Kid,” Slade said as he pulled the blanket off of Oliver. Oliver merely groaned and felt around to grab the blanket.   
“Get up,” Slade told him.   
“No,” Oliver whined.   
“Oliver, get up now!” Shado ordered loudly. Oliver reacting to the tone of voice she used on the Island when there was danger sat bolt upright, looking around for the enemy.   
“That’s cheating,” Oliver accused when he realised they were safe and he got out of bed and grabbed the nearest top to put on.   
“Here,” Shado said as she handed him a bowl of fruit salad, while Sara handed one to Slade.   
“I’m kinda getting sick of fruit salad,” Oliver noted.   
“Missing the tree roots?” Sara asked. Everyone except the group blanched at the thought.   
“Seriously, tree roots?” Tommy asked.   
“Sort of like jerky, texture wise if you cook them right,” Oliver shrugged.  
“I’ll take your word for it buddy,” Tommy said. They quickly finished their breakfasts and got dressed into something a bit classier than just an old shirt and shorts.   
“We can train this afternoon kid,” Slade told him. Oliver nodded and they walked down with the rest to the front door. 

“Have you even still got a bank card Oliver?” Sara asked.   
“Walter fixed mine yesterday, told me to get everything we all need or want today” Oliver said holding a credit card up.   
“Really, we have no limit?” Shado asked suspiciously.   
“Never have and probably never will,” Oliver answered. Tommy opened the front door when someone knocked. Two very large men walked in and one embraced Oliver immediately, with Oliver returning the embrace.   
“Sam, I missed you,” Oliver told him.   
“Missed you too buddy,” Sam said. The other man, who everyone had already deduced was Luke, patted Oliver’s back.   
“Hey Luke,” Oliver greeted.   
“I don’t think I have stopped smiling since the news said you were alive,” Luke told him.   
“Don’t we have some shopping to do?” Sam reminded and they quickly found themselves seated in the limo. 

“Okay, I think some introductions are in order,” Tommy began. “So next to me is Thea obviously, Shado, Sara, Detective Lance, Slade, Joe and Oliver obviously.”   
“Might as well warn you now, there could be a chance Slade, Shado, Sara and I don’t take to this well. The Island changed us and I am the only one out of us four that was used to the media, but its been almost a year for me,” Oliver told them.   
“We’ll make sure they don’t get too close, hopefully, the media storm is going to be astronomical when they figure out where you are. And nice to meet you Joe, it looks like we are going to be spending a lot more time with each other,” Luke said.   
“I appreciate this,” Slade told them.   
“No worries man, we’ve been taking care of Oliver and Tommy since they were about Joe’s age. Kid’s don’t deserve this kind of attention and we will do everything we possibly can to keep Joe as far away from it as possible,” Sam told him. Slade nodded his understanding and Joe gave the two men a shy wave. 

The limo pulled up out front of a decent size shopping centre. It wasn’t Starling’s largest but it had everything in it. Sam and Luke quickly organized the security team and soon the group was walking in the shopping centre. The first store they decided to go into was a women’s clothing store so Shado and Sara could get some new clothes that fit them properly.   
“Laurel!” Sara exclaimed shocked as she saw her sister near the tops. Lance looked over surprised but quickly walked over and gave his daughter a hug.   
“I didn’t know you would be here,” Laurel said.   
“We decided to finally give the outside world a go, are you busy today? You could join us if you want? For as long as you want, no pressure,” Sara offered, Laurel looked over the group and the pleading look on her fathers face and sighed.   
“I guess I could, it’s my day off today,” Laurel said.   
“Where are you working?” Oliver asked curious.   
“CNRI, we help people who need but can’t afford a normal lawyer,” Laurel said.   
“That’s sounds great,” Sara said truthfully.   
“What are you all planning on doing now you’re back?” Laurel asked them.   
“Pre-med,” Shado said.   
“Law enforcement training,” Sara answered.   
“Slade and I are going to work at Queen Consolidated two days a week,” Oliver said.   
“Don’t forget our little brother, kid,” Slade reminded him. Tommy gave him a grin in thanks.   
“Sorry Tommy,” Oliver apologised.   
“It’s okay,” Tommy told him.   
“That’s twice now you have called Tommy little brother, why?” Laurel asked curiously.   
“Slade nicknames people he cares about, it’s kinda cute really,” Sara told him. Oliver snorted with laughter when she called Slade cute. Slade raised one eyebrow at her but she quickly diffused the beginning of a possible glare by hugging Slade. Slade stood shocked for a minute but then his hand struck out lightening fast and ruffled her hair, ruining the style in seconds.   
“Slade,” Sara whined as she tried to fix her hair.   
“Yes little bird?” Slade asked.   
“Little bird is Sara’s nickname and Oliver’s is kid,” Shado explained not looking up from the rack she was going through.   
“Kid?” Laurel questioned confused.   
“You should hear about the peach incident,” Lance told her with a grin on his face as he remembered.   
“The peach incident is just one of many I can tell you about,” Slade drawled. Oliver narrowed his eyes at the man.   
“I’m going to help Shado,” Oliver announced and left the laughing group. 

“Hey, need some help?” Oliver asked as he came to her in the shorts section.   
“We have lived in basically the same clothes for almost a year, now there is so much choice, it is difficult,” Shado told him honestly.   
“Well let’s make it simpler. What’s your favourite colour?” Oliver asked.   
“I think we have all grown rather fond of green, I like light blue as well” Shado mused.   
“Green is peaceful,” Oliver agreed and went to the other side of the rack and began looking for anything green. He found a pair of cotton pants in a dark green and walked over to show Shado. She looked at them and then checked the size.   
“Even the right size, thank you,” Shado said and then she noticed the price tag and her face fell.   
“The price doesn’t matter, you took care of me on Lian Yu, at least let me use some of my money to get you some clothes. Trust me this is nothing and I want to get you what you need and want. And Walter told me to tell you can’t say no,” Oliver said. They continued going through the racks finding a few more items of clothing, Sara joining in but favoring black instead of Shado’s green. They had just finished paying when Oliver saw a flash in the corner of his eye.   
“They found us,” he said sighing.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: 

The security team immediately tightened the circle around the group, as the reporters got closer.   
“Where next?” Sam asked.   
“Clothes for me and Slade,” Oliver replied. Tommy whispered a store name into Sam’s ear so the reporters couldn’t hear. As they began to move forward one reporter decided to try his luck.   
“Mr. Queen is it true you saw your father die?” he called shoving the mic past one of the security guys almost colliding with Shado’s face if Oliver hadn’t seen the trajectory and pulled her closer to him and away from the mic. One of the security guards grabbed the reporter’s arm and less than gently flung him backwards, but it was too late, as the reporters had only just begun.   
“Mr. Queen have you got a new love interest, or a harem considering the two Lance girls are with you today as well?” A female reporter shouted. Lance’s eyes widened in anger but he just remembered to stay quiet.   
“Mr. Queen is it true that the boat sinking was fake so you could run away from your family and they found you?” Another shouted.   
“Mr. Queen did you leave because you got a person pregnant and that is your son?” A young reporter asked. Oliver actually looked incredulous at that.   
“I wasn’t even gone a year,” Oliver reminded them. And then internally winced. The worst thing he could of done was answer one of their questions, and he did, sort of.   
“Mr. Queen are you gay and in a relationship with the man standing next to you?” A female reporter asked, hoping her question would be answered next. Oliver looked at Slade shocked, and Slade looked back at Oliver shocked and then they both burst out laughing. The reporters froze and the security detail used the opportunity to begin pushing them out of the way and the group began moving to the next store. Once they got there, Oliver and Slade were very quick picking clothing in greens, browns, greys and blacks. Once they had paid for them they decided on the toy store next as Joe had plenty of clothes. 

Joe looked like he was in heaven as he entered the store. Oliver leant down and whispered in his ear.   
“We will go aisle by aisle, pick whatever you want. And by that I don’t mean one thing, get as many things as you want because I don’t think your dad will want to do this again for a while.” He told Joe, who nodded in response. Slade’s hands had been curled into fists since they left the men’s clothing store. They walked slowly through the store where Joe got a few things and some LEGO sets when they reached the toy gun section. Two boys were standing there and one pressed a button on one of the toy automatic rifles. The accurate noise of a gun firing soon filled the air and Oliver and Slade who weren’t paying attention to the boys immediately grabbed as many of their family and friends as they could and dragged them down, covering them from the gunfire.   
Oliver who was taller than Slade peeked over everyone, who were all crouched down and breathing hard showing how scared they all were. Then Oliver noticed the toy gun one of the boys was holding in front of them.   
“Slade,” Oliver began.   
“Get your head down kid,” Slade ordered.   
“It was a toy,” Oliver explained. Slade cautiously looked up and saw the boys as well. The media however was having a field day shouting out questions concerning PTSD, where Oliver got army training, if he received it from Slade as they heard Oliver call to him and now knew his name. Slade sighed and rose, Oliver following with the rest of the group. Lance noticed the guilt on Oliver’s face.   
“I thought I heard a gun too, if I had my radio on me I probably would of called it in. They are making toy weapons way too accurate these days both with appearance and sound. If it had been a gun, you probably would have saved all of our lives,” Lance told him. Oliver gave a quick grin in thanks. They finished the toy store leaving with almost ten full bags of toys and slowly made their way to the limo. And by slowly they were literally shuffling their feet as the hordes of media had been joined by members of the public wanting to see Oliver Queen in person. 

“This is ridiculous,” Laurel complained.   
“I agree. Will it be like this every time Oliver?” Shado asked.   
“Probably for at least a month, maybe longer if nothing else interesting is happening,” Oliver told them. Slade wasn’t looking very happy, having gone paler than usual and was still clenching his fists. Oliver had a feeling it would have been either him or Slade that would have the hardest time and he was right and nudged Shado for help.   
“Hey, just keep breathing, just focus on breathing, we are almost out,” Shado whispered to him. Slade looked at him shocked for a minute but gave a short nod and took an extra deep breath, held it and then released. A reporter, like many others had guessed that Oliver Queen had returned suffering from PTSD and had snuck off to buy a brand of sparklers that exploded with a large bang and white flash. He quickly lit it and threw it over the bodyguards into the centre of the group. As Slade released his breath the sparkler exploded just in front of him. 

Slade and Oliver, both reminded of land mines immediately froze.   
“Don’t move,” Slade shouted. Everyone in the group froze. Slade and Oliver immediately began searching and it was Oliver that found what remained of the sparkler. Realizing they had been fooled he quickly picked it up and showed Tommy.   
“It’s a sparkler,” Tommy explained. Tommy then noticed that Oliver’s hand was shaking and a quick glance at Slade confirmed his were too.   
“I hope you're happy with yourselves, because of how you acted today the group interview we were going to schedule is off the cards,” Laurel snarled, recognizing the symptoms Oliver and Slade were displaying and how much today had affected them.   
The security team forgot any consideration they were showing to the media and public and just began pushing past people and helped the group get into the limo in record time. They were driving away heading towards the Queen Mansion when Sara spoke up.   
“What interview Laurel?” she asked quietly.   
“Standard lawyer trick, one reporter pulls a stunt like that and then you blame them in front of the rest of the media for ruining their chances at an exclusive. The person who threw the sparkler will be fired by the end of the day, guaranteed,” Laurel explained. She then looked towards Slade and Oliver who were sitting together looking at their hands, which were still shaking. 

“Talking about it helps,” Laurel told them quietly, feeling guilty that she had dismissed the call as a prank and her actions since they had returned from the Island. Oliver looked towards Slade who was still too lost in his own memories to hear Laurel.   
“It was about a month after I met Slade, I was up a tree gathering nuts and some dry twigs for firewood when Slade was surrounded by soldiers. He gave me the hand signal for stay where you are, so I did. I watched him get beaten and captured. I followed them, even though he said not too and soon they had him in a clearing. The soldiers surrounded the edges so Slade couldn’t escape. Then they began throwing large rocks. They weren’t aiming to hit Slade though, he was confused and so was I. Until the first land mine exploded. The clearing was full of them, and Slade had to keep moving to dodge the rocks incase they hit a mine, while hoping he wasn’t going to stand on one himself. I had no clue how to help him; I had barely any training at that point. I was basically useless. I was looking around for anything that could help when I noticed three beehives in a tree. I quickly climbed it and was stung dozens of times as I cut them down and rested them. I grabbed the first one and threw it at a group of soldiers, then the next at another group and the final at the group Fyer’s was standing with, just because it was Fyer’s. Soon they were all screaming and running, forgetting all about Slade. I quickly climbed down the tree and made my way to the edge of the clearing and called for Slade. He quickly saw me and carefully made his way over and was about two feet away when he stepped on a land mine. We both heard the click. I’m not proud of what I did but a soldier had collapsed, he must have been allergic to bees. He was having a reaction anyway. I took his gun and shot him, dragged his body over to where Slade stood and carefully he moved just as I rolled the body over the mine. He returned the favour later on anyway and saved me when I stepped on a land mine.” Oliver told them quietly. 

“And that arsehole with the sparkler triggered that memory?” Lance asked. Oliver nodded and went back to staring at his hands.   
“You saved Slade’s life, you were probably scared and hurt and you already said you were getting stung by dozens of bees but you still saved Slade’s life. You did what was necessary even if it was an impossible situation,” Tommy told him. Oliver nodded absently not believing the words. Then Joe got up from his seat and walked over to Oliver and Slade.   
“If you didn’t do that Dad would of died,” Joe reminded him. Oliver looked up, his eyes full of moisture with only sheer will keeping him from crying.   
“That’s the only thing that keeps me going sometimes,” Oliver told him. Slade looked up at Oliver then, grief clouding his face.   
“Kid,” Slade said, voice full of pity.   
“Brothers,” Oliver reminded him holding out his arm, Slade gave a small smile and took it, the two of them clasping the others arm.   
“Brothers,” Slade repeated.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!

Chapter Twenty-Four: 

When they got home Slade still wasn’t completely back to normal and Oliver and Shado knew it.   
“You know, no one has actually seen us properly spar,” Shado hinted. Oliver and Sara looked at her in surprise guessing what she was trying to hint at.   
“It is my last day before I have to go back to work and I would like to see you properly spar,” Lance said deciding to help Shado with whatever she had planned.   
“You’re just trying to make me feel less helpless or whatever that feelings nonsense you always talk about reckons,” Slade huffed.   
“I am all for not getting beaten up, but Shado is generally right about this sort of thing Slade,” Oliver reminded him.   
“Fine kid, it’s your funeral anyway,” Slade teased gently. Oliver gave him a grin and began walking outside, shedding his top handing it to Tommy who held out his hand for it.   
“Thanks,” Oliver said. Slade handed his over as well.   
“Thanks little brother,” Slade said.   
“No worries, I’m sorry that happened today,” Tommy told him.   
“It’s not your fault, there is nothing to apologise for,” Slade said. The group made their way to the patch of lawn they had taken to sparring on and Oliver began stretching with Shado and Slade joining in. 

“Oliver and Shado will team up against Slade,” Sara explained.   
“That’s not fair,” Joe said upset.   
“Not fair on us you mean. Your dad is amazing at hand to hand,” Oliver told him adopting a defense pose, Shado just stood naturally expect she was gently bouncing on the balls of her feet, Slade however stood still and relaxed.   
“Begin,” Sara said. The others stood transfixed as Slade held his own and landed hit after hit on both Shado and Oliver regardless of how well they worked as a team. Slade would never seem it, but he moved with a fluidity that even rivaled Shado’s and certainly surpassed Oliver’s. Within ten minutes Oliver and Shado were both on the ground and while Slade wasn’t unaffected, he was still standing and barely breathing hard. 

“You broke me,” Oliver groaned. Slade chuckled and moved to sit by Oliver where he had sprawled himself out on the lawn.   
“You have definitely improved kid, last time you were down within three minutes, well done,” Slade praised with Oliver giving him a grin in return and then groaning.   
“It even hurts to smile,” Oliver whined. The rest of the group followed Slade and found spots to sit down.   
“Remind me to never get on an Australian soldiers bad side,” Tommy half joked.   
“I never even thought that speed could be possible while fighting,” Laurel said.   
“Do you think any of us will ever be that good?” Thea asked still in awe of what she had just seen.   
“I thought I was that good until I met Slade, he is above master level in so many crafts,” Shado said, wincing as she sat up, Sara helping her.   
“Crafts?” Lance asked curious.   
“I am skilled in hand to hand fighting, martial arts, sword fighting and I’m an expert marksmen,” Slade explained.   
“So what the hell is my dad then?” Tommy wondered out loud.   
“With your permission when ASIS gets here to debrief me, I’m going to ask them to look into Malcolm as one of the many favours they owe me,” Slade said.   
“Sure, I’m curious to know too,” Tommy accepted easily. They all sat in comfortable silence for a while until Lance broke it gently.   
“Honey, do you want to try and go home tonight?” Lance asked Sara. Sara froze but saw the encouraging smiles on Laurel and her dad’s face and gave in.   
“Sure,” she replied. Oliver, Slade and Shado froze, none of them like the idea of being parted, especially as Lance’s house was across the city, almost as far away as it could be while still being in the Starling.   
“I’ll be fine guys, and I have to try eventually. You’ve been trying too Oliver,” Sara reminded him.   
“The next room, not the other side of the city,” Oliver grumbled. 

The next morning saw Oliver, Slade and Shado enter the dining area looking like they hadn’t slept at all. Slade sat down next to Joe, poured himself a cup of coffee and gulped it down, Shado poured her own but sipped at it whereas Oliver merely put his head on the table in an attempt to go back to sleep, though he did notice that Thea wasn’t present.   
“Did you not sleep?” Moira asked concerned.   
“No,” Oliver groaned.   
“Well I am sorry about this, but I have been working up the courage to ask for days now, and I am afraid if I don’t I won’t be able to try again,” Moira began looking ashamed.   
“What is it?” Oliver asked sitting up, she had been home for a full two days now and Oliver was hoping that meant she was finally coming around.   
“Your father, did Robert die on the boat or did he make it to the Island?” Moira asked as a single tear ran down her cheek. Oliver froze but he knew he needed to tell her so he took a deep breath.   
“Dad made it to a life raft first, he pulled me from the ocean onto it, but there wasn’t enough water for both of us. I’m sorry mum but he killed himself so I could survive,” Oliver told her brokenly as he remembered his father’s final moments.   
“He did tell me though, that there were a group of people who failed the city and he gave me a book full of their names. Somehow I am going to right their wrongs to honour his memory,” Oliver told her in an attempt to comfort her. But all it accomplished was Moira running out of the room. 

Oliver froze and looked towards Slade for an answer, the man always had the answers to everything in Oliver’s opinion. Slade however looked shocked, as did Shado. He slowly turned to face Oliver.   
“There’s no easy way to tell you this kid, so I am going to just put it bluntly. She knew about the book and I am pretty sure you were never meant to find out about it,” Slade told him.   
“That’s preposterous,” Walter began from his spot towards the end of the table, where he sat so he could spread his newspapers out without crowding anyone.   
“Her body language, she froze completely when Oliver first mentioned the book, then she tensed and finally she looked crushed, more upset than when you told her about your dad and she wouldn’t look at anyone and then she fled. Who is more upset at a book of names than their husband’s suicide? That body language adds up to knowing about the book, wishing you didn’t know about the book, and she is going to do something urgent, hence the running away that she knows is going to affect us in someway which is why she wouldn’t look at anyone.” Shado explained with Slade nodding in agreeance.   
“This book is a lot more important than we thought it was, I think it’s probably a good idea to give it to me for now kid,” Slade said. Oliver nodded absently and handed him the book, still reeling from what Shado and Slade told him about his mother.   
“I have three back ups of the list on different hard drives and computers, I will create a few more just incase when I go home next,” Tommy offered.   
“That would be great,” Shado said, just as she finished a knock came from the front door. Raisa walked over from where she was cleaning and opened it.

Lance and Sara walked in, Lance in his uniform and both of them looking like they hadn’t slept. Shado immediately got up and looked Sara over as discreetly as she could manage but Sara noticed.   
“Just nightmare after nightmare, nothing is wrong physically,” Sara told her.   
“Seems like it was the night for them,” Oliver told her and she looked him, Slade and Shado over and noticed the dark circles under their eyes. Lance looked them over and noticed how tired the three of them looked.   
“You had them too?” Lance asked to confirm.   
“Yes,” Oliver answered for all of them.   
“I could ring and ask for another day off?” Lance asked Sara, not wanting to leave her alone.   
“No it's okay, I don’t think we are doing anything today, are we?” Sara asked the group.   
“Nope, too tired. Might play with Joe and his new toys,” Slade answered. Joe’s eyes lit up at that soon followed by a massive smile. Lance nodded, convinced that Sara would be safe. He kissed her on the cheek and then left. As they returned to breakfast Oliver looked around at his family.   
“What are we going to do about mum?” Oliver asked quietly. The question was met with silence.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: 

Author’s note: If you are wondering where Laurel is for the next several chapters, she is back at work. 

Sara was quickly filled in about what had happened before she showed up, but it was Tommy that thought of a plan.   
“You can track a phone number pretty easily these days, Walter can ring the phone company and say that Moira lost her phone and wants to know where it is. As their married they should tell him,” Tommy explained. Walter nodded and rang the number for their phone company; he wanted to know where his wife was and what she was hiding. He hung up once he got the address and then double checked it to make sure.   
“She is at Merlyn Global,” Walter told them.   
“This all keeps going back to dad,” Tommy pointed out. Slade nodded his agreeance.   
“I think it can be agreed that he is involved or behind whatever this is,” Slade said.   
“We can go see Felicity, she can find out what Tommy’s dad is hiding,” Thea announced standing in the doorway still in her pajamas. Tommy jumped in surprise as his back was to her and he hadn’t heard her coming in.   
“Well done Thea,” Shado praised with a small grin.   
“You’re praising her for scaring me?” Tommy asked pouting.   
“You need to learn how to pay attention to your surroundings,” Shado teased.   
“Do you honestly think she could help Speedy?” Slade asked seriously.   
“She found you, didn’t she?” Thea answered sincerely.   
“Let’s do it, we can take the limo in with Walter this morning,” Oliver announced.   
“I’ll ring our bodyguards,” Tommy offered and walked out of the room as he began dialing. 

Within the hour Oliver, Slade, Shado, Sara, Tommy, Joe, Thea and Walter with the bodyguards were seated in the limo and on their way to Queen Consolidated. Slade made a mental note to remember to play with Joe after this.   
“We can use my private elevator and I will call Miss Smoak up to my office, that way no one should even know you are in the building,” Walter explained.   
“That sounds good, we don’t need a repeat of the media just yet,” Oliver said quietly. Slade and Joe nodded their agreement.   
“So tell us more about Felicity, Thea,” Sara asked changing the subject.   
“ Umm, she interning for the break and she is at MIT but I forget what she is doing something with computers and science. Oh and she is goth,” Thea added as an afterthought.   
“What’s goth?” Joe asked.   
“When people prefer to wear dark colours and sometimes listen to rock or similar types of music,” Tommy answered. The car stopped then and they quickly made their way into Walter’s private elevator and were soon heading up to the top floor. Once the doors opened Joe immediately ran out and stopped at the large glass windows overlooking the city.   
“Wow,” Joe said awed.   
“Pretty good view huh,” Oliver said as he stopped next to Joe, also taking in the site of his city. They all stood there for a moment looking until Walter broke the silence.   
“My office is this way,” he told them. As the rest of the group began following Walter, Oliver hesitated and with him Slade. Oliver looked out and took in Starling City as a whole and thought of all the times he stood in this exact spot with his father.   
“I won’t fail you dad, I’ll right your wrongs,” Oliver whispered. Slade put a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze in support, and together the two of them began walking over to Walter’s office. 

“She should be up soon,” Walter informed them as they walked in. Oliver nodded and looked around the office, remembering all the times he had come to see his dad while he was working. Soon there was a knock on the door.   
“Come in,” Walter called. Felicity walked in, and true to Thea’s word, was dressed as a stereotypical goth. She had on a black skirt and a charcoal grey blouse.   
“Hello, oh, you’re here. Like actually here, in person. The satellite wasn’t the best so I couldn’t see perfectly but you all look well. Not missing a leg or anything, not that it would be an issue. The best pirates managed perfectly well without legs, not that I’m comparing you to pirates or anything. ” Felicity paused in shock as she noticed everyone who was present in the room, her jaw still gaping as Thea gave her a hug.   
“You helped me find them,” Thea told her.   
“It was nothing, well not literally nothing but much easier than hacking the CIA. Did I just say hacking the CIA, because that’s not something I have ever done, because that’s illegal and I don’t break the law, ever,” Felicity rambled. The whole group stood amused, and Sara thankful her dad was at work instead of here to listen to Felicity incriminate herself.   
“And hacking the satellite to find us wasn’t illegal?” Slade queried, amused.   
“I was just borrowing it, they didn’t even know it had moved,” Felicity defended and then paled as she realised what she said and quickly turned to Walter.   
“Please don’t fire me, can you even fire interns?” Felicity begged.   
“Why would I fire you? You helped me find Oliver and the others, something no one else thought was possible. I owe you a great deal of thanks Ms. Smoak,” Walter told her.   
“Don’t worry about it, just doing my job,” Felicity quipped with an easy smile.   
“Your job wasn’t to save us from hell, but I was wondering if you would be able to help us with a technological problem? Only if you want to of course,” Oliver asked with a smile on his face. Thea had been right, he did immediately like Felicity; she had an innocence about her that reminded him of better times. He had noticed that everyone else had taken a liking to her as well, while it was too early to tell he could imagine Felicity fitting in nicely within group.   
“What do you need me to do?” Felicity asked.   
“Can you hack my dad?” Tommy asked seriously, leaving Felicity with a surprised look on her face.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six: 

“Your dad, Malcolm Merlyn, the CEO of Merlyn Global?” Felicity asked.   
“Yep,” Tommy confirmed.   
“You should probably sit down,” Shado told her noticing how pale she was in comparison with her dark hair and makeup.   
“Tommy’s dad and my mum are up to something, and there are lots of things that don’t add up. Big things that don’t add up, and we can’t wait for the official people to get here anymore, so we need you to find out their secrets,” Oliver explained.   
“You don’t think you are being paranoid, you did just spend a year away from them, things have changed?” Felicity reminded him.   
“Who would be more upset over a book of names than her husband’s suicide?” Oliver queried.   
“Or the CEO who gave a man who has been in the navy and special forces for the majority of his life a beating?” Tommy asked.   
“I gave as good as I got,” Slade grumbled.   
“You were bruised head to toe the next day, my dad was back at work first thing in the morning and didn’t stop until midnight,” Tommy reminded him.   
“Ok, if you are all sure I will look into it,” Felicity paused giving them one last option to back out, because now she was curious too. They all looked at each other.

“You can use my computer Ms. Smoak,” Walter said as he got up, offering her his seat. Felicity immediately sat down and her fingers began flying across the keyboard.   
“Ok, so finding out how your dad became a ninja fighter is probably the easiest. I mean it would of taken time for that to happen,” Felicity explained.   
“It had to be before he came back, he hasn’t stopped in the office since there would have been no time for him to learn,” Tommy told her. Felicity nodded and began typing again.   
“Alright, so turns out he took a flight to this weird sounding place and then a flight from it to Starling, no other recorded trips until after he took up the mantle of CEO again,” Felicity read from the screen.   
“What is the name of the place?” Slade asked curious.   
“Nanda Parbat,” Felicity said. Shado immediately paled and gripped Sara’s hand, as she was the closest one, in fear.  
“What is it?” Sara asked her worried.   
“Have you heard of the League of Assassins?” Shado asked the group. 

“The what?” Oliver asked.   
“My father told me about them, a group thousands of years old lead by the Demon. They take broken people and forge them into assassins that serve the Demon until their death, my father met one years before I was born when he was still refining his crafts and learnt from him for a time,” Shado explained.   
“My dad is an assassin?” Tommy asked gobsmacked.   
“We don’t know anything for sure yet Tommy,” Oliver said trying to reassure him, his own mind connecting the dots and finding that an assassin made sense. How Malcolm moved so silently everywhere, how he fought Slade, how he didn’t react to the pain of a broken nose and how since he came back from this Nanda Parbat place he never seemed to care about life, about people anymore. He remembered when he and Tommy were little and Malcolm would always make a point about helping his wife in the Glades, being among the poor people that needed help. Now he just threw a gala or charity auction and then sent the check in the mail. 

“Can we get back to the fact it is lead by a Demon? Like a real demon?” Joe asked.   
“Demon’s aren’t real son,” Slade reminded him.   
“But Shado said,” Joe countered. Slade turned to her and gave her a clear look that everyone easily translated to “you started it, now fix it.”   
“He is a man, but there are rumors that he is something else, that he never dies, but it is probably just stories like Santa,” Shado said easily, feeling proud of herself for fixing the situation.   
“Santa’s real though,” Joe said confused. Shado froze then, mentally berating herself. Slade threw her a deadly glare before he knelt in front of Joe.   
“Of course Santa is real, Shado is being silly,” Slade told him. 

“Did Santa visit you on the Island?” Joe asked. Slade and the rest of the group froze again, none of them were really ready to answer these questions and they still kept coming.   
“Of course he did, him and the reindeer,” Oliver said, Slade giving him a nod in agreeance and thanks.   
“Then why didn’t Santa get you off the Island, that would have been the best Christmas present of all?” Joe asked. Everyone was silent as they tried to think of an answer to that.   
“We don’t always get what we ask for from Santa, he did get me a nice pair of boots though,” Oliver said. Slade held back his grimace as he remembered the soldier he killed to get that pair of boots so Oliver’s toes didn’t fall off from frostbite. He was also slightly annoyed that Oliver had compared him to a jolly fat man with a beard; he would get the kid back for that later.  
“I asked Santa every year to bring you back and he never did either, why would he been so mean?” Joe asked. Everyone looked uncomfortable but Sara whose eyes lit up as she realised she could answer the question and she knelt down next to Slade facing Joe.   
“I think I know why, you see Santa can tell the future, and he knew that your dad would get stuck on the Island. But he also knew that Oliver, Shado and I would too. Santa couldn’t bring him home because he knew that we would need him to survive long enough for Thea and Walter to rescue us,” Sara told him.   
“That makes sense, he knew dad could help you guys and that I would be fine for a while, wow he really does know everything,” Joe said quietly as he processed what Sara told him. Slade’s eyebrows had raised though, what Sara said had really touched him. He gave her a rare full smile, which she quickly returned. 

The two of them rose and Oliver came closer and outstretched his arms.   
“Awwww, group hug?” he asked with a goofy smile on his face. Slade raised one eyebrow and made to walk closer surprising Oliver. Just as he got close enough he flung out his foot, knocking Oliver backwards leaving him sprawled out on his backside, after all he couldn’t let the kid think he was going soft. As everyone laughed he allowed himself a small grin as he walked over to Felicity who had silently been observing the group in between typing stuff, he wanted to know everything there was to know about Malcolm Merlyn and the League of Assassins.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven: 

They spent another ten minutes in the office but it was soon clear that any other answers would take longer for Felicity to find. She was chewing her third red pen lid and Oliver wondered how many red lidless pens she must have lying around somewhere.   
“Give me a day, I’ll have more for you then, I mean it’s not like I have anything important to do,” Felicity told Slade who was sitting next to her, impressed with her hacking skills.   
“You have gone beyond the skill level I have seen from ASIS hackers Ms. Smoak,” Slade praised. 

“I thought you were interning here?” Tommy asked. Felicity immediately paled.   
“Um, yes and Queen Consolidated is important and I know you have to start at the bottom and work your way up and everything, but I have spent months fetching coffee and removing viruses because they were watching adult stuff at work, this is a lot more interesting and important than coffee and viruses, oh god why is nobody stopping me” Felicity babbled.   
“It is fine Ms. Smoak, you have already proven your capability and you are right, it far exceeds getting coffee and removing viruses. If it is agreeable with you, you may spend the rest of your internship up here and help me catch up Oliver and Slade with technology and you may learn about running a business such as Queen Consolidated with them and Tommy if you wish?” Walter offered. 

“So instead of coffee and viruses I would teaching them how to google something?” Felicity asked wondering how that would be any better.   
“Hey, we weren’t gone that long!” Oliver exclaimed.   
“The boys will only be here for two days a week, and as Oliver has pointed out they were not gone for that long so it shouldn’t take long to update them of what has happened recently. I was thinking you could actually test the strength of our firewalls, seeing the ease you can access people’s records and satellites has made me worry that our security could be lax. And if you find it lacking, you have my permission to upgrade it if you are able to,” Walter said.   
“Wow that’s a lot of trust to place in someone you barely know,” Felicity pointed out.   
“Without you Oliver, Slade, Sara and Shado would most likely be dead by now, or most definitely still be trapped on the Island. We all owe you a debt of gratitude that may never be able to be fully paid back, ‘a lot of trust’ as you put it is only the beginning,” Walter told her.   
“I’ll definitely have more for you tomorrow, nothing can hide if it is on the Internet and if it is on the Internet I can find it,” Felicity promised.   
“Thank you, I know what we are asking may be a bit hard to justify doing, but we have to know what’s going on,” Tommy said.   
“It’s not that much different to a 12 year old girl asking me to find her dead brother, and that was a piece of cake,” Felicity said with a grin.   
“Hopefully this will be too,” Tommy said quietly. 

After saying goodbye to Felicity and Walter the group was soon heading back to the Mansion.   
“Could we play operation?” Joe asked.   
“That’s the game where you have to pull stuff out of a dude without touching the sides right?” Oliver queried.   
“Yes, it’s my favourite game!” Joe said excitedly.   
“Oh course we can play it,” Slade said.   
“Thanks dad!” Joe replied giving Slade a quick one-armed hug. 

Soon they were inside the Mansion and sitting around the dining table. Raisa had made a large platter of salad sandwiches for their lunch and they all had one in their hands. Joe had elected himself to go first since he was the youngest and the game rules at the orphanage stated the youngest person was allowed to go first. He carefully pulled a piece out without touching the sides and then triumphantly passed the game to Slade who was sitting next to him. Slade carefully maneuvered his tweezers into different positions trying to find the perfect angle to pick out piece in the leg.   
“You’ve put less thought into diffusing a bomb, get on with it will you” Oliver grumbled. Slade raised an eyebrow as he looked at the kid.   
“What’s up your knickers?” Slade asked. Joe and Thea immediately started giggling. Oliver blushed slightly but then shook his head to focus.   
“I’m not sure, I’ve just been feeling off today,” Oliver admitted. Shado shot up and was at Oliver’s side in record time and placed her hand on his forehead.   
“You’re very warm, you have a fever,” she said worried.   
“I’ll get a blanket,” Sara offered taking the stairs two at a time.   
“Get over here kid,” Slade ordered. Oliver got up without protest, knowing not to argue with a direct order from Slade and carried his chair over to Slade, where Tommy who was on Slade’s other side shuffled down to make room. Sara came down the stairs then with a thick doona and helped Oliver wrap it around him and Slade.   
“Why are you wrapping it around both of them?” Thea asked.   
“Slade’s body heat will help Oliver begin sweating it out faster than he could by himself,” Shado explained. 

“How are you not complaining? I remember when you were sick a few weeks before you left, you managed to take the concept of ‘man flu’ to a whole new level” Tommy asked incredulously.   
“There’s no room for weakness on Lian Yu and Shado doesn’t listen to whining,” Oliver explained.   
“He is not a child and I will not put up with it,” Shado said seriously. They finished playing the game with Joe winning and Thea coming a close second. Slade then suggested watching a movie with both Thea and Joe agreeing that they should watch Hotel Transylvania, as they were the only two that had watched it and it was one of their favourite movies. Oliver spent the majority of the movie napping against Slade and listening to Shado comment on the inaccuracies of the film.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight: 

Oliver stayed home with Slade, Joe and Thea watching movies while the others went to Queen Consolidated to meet with Felicity. Oliver’s fever was slightly down from yesterday but Shado had sternly ordered rest for today and Oliver wasn’t stupid enough to argue with her. Walter had also told them they could begin their business lessons once Oliver was better. They were just getting to a good part in the first Hobbit movie with Azog closing in on Thorin and his company when Oliver’s phone rang. 

Thea quickly pressed the pause button and Joe gave him an annoyed look. Oliver gave him a shrug he was also annoyed. He couldn’t even remember the last movie he had sat down with Thea to watch and he wanted to reconnect with her, and this movie was a part of it. He had missed her the most on the Island, with his greatest worry not being able to tell her how much he loved her. He had always been too busy with partying and his friends to spend time with her before the Island and he was determined to fix it now he was home. Family was the most important thing to him now. 

“Hello,” Oliver greeted.   
“Hey buddy, just letting you know we are going to be a bit later, Felicity needs access to Merlyn Global computers to get through the firewalls so we are going to make a quick detour there, get the info we need and then we will be back to go through it all. So don’t wait for us for lunch. And Shado said to tell Slade that she, Sara and the bodyguards are here so we will be fine and not to worry. Make sure you clarify it was Shado that said it and not me though, okay?” Tommy told him.   
“Don’t worry, I will take care of Slade, see you soon,” Oliver said and hung up.   
“Why will you be taking care of Slade?” Slade asked. 

“Felicity needs to access a computer at Merlyn Global to hack the firewalls, Shado told Tommy to tell me to tell you not to worry that she, Sara and the bodyguards are enough protection if anything goes wrong. Which it won’t, Malcolm probably won’t even know Felicity got through their systems, just like Fyer’s never knew Felicity hacked his satellite” Oliver told him. Slade took a deep breath to calm the onset of nerves that members of his family could be in potential danger and there was nothing he could do to help them.   
“They will be fine, now let's watch this Azog dude try to kill some hobbits,” Oliver said trying to lighten the mood.   
“There’s only one hobbit, and one wizard, the rest are dwarves,” Joe pointed out. Thea just gave Oliver her famous ‘are you serious’ look that usually appeared anytime he said anything dumb.   
“Just press play,” Oliver grumbled. 

About half an hour after the movie finished the limo with everyone in it pulled up.   
“Honestly, I can’t believe that is what you came up with!” Felicity said loudly.   
“It was the first thing I could think of!” Tommy defended.   
“Obviously, I can never show my face at Merlyn Global again now, what if I wanted to get a job there?” Felicity said angrily as she appeared in the dining room where Oliver, Slade, Joe and Thea were just finishing lunch.   
“What did Tommy do?” Thea asked.   
“Malcolm came down, he was curious to why Tommy was at Merlyn Global, and Tommy panicked though he didn’t let Malcolm see it. So Tommy put his hand around my shoulders and hugged me and told Malcolm that I was a friend of his and a complete computer geek and he was giving me a tour because I liked computers,” Felicity explained.   
“Not sure exactly what is so bad about it, trust me he has done much worse,” Oliver commented.   
“He did the suggestive eyebrow movement when he said I liked computers, as if I was turned on by them or something. Malcolm’s assistant laughed at me and then Malcolm said he better give us some privacy with the computers,” Felicity told them.   
“Oh,” was all Oliver could think of saying. 

“Where were the others?” Slade asked.   
“We spread ourselves out around the floor, but we saw what happened,” Shado said.   
“Like Oliver said, I have done much worse. But I am sorry Felicity,” Tommy said heartfelt. Felicity softened and gave Tommy a smile.   
“I may have overreacted, I’m sorry too,” Felicity said.   
“So did you get it?” Joe asked.   
“Yep,” Felicity said, taking a seat at the table and bringing out her laptop and a hard drive. Her fingers began flying across the keyboard as she began sorting out everything she downloaded at Merlyn Global. As the rest of the group began sitting down and helping themselves to the rest of the sandwiches Raisa head made for lunch when Oliver’s phone rang. 

“Hello?” Oliver said.   
“Hello, this is Agent James with ASIS, I was wondering if Mr. Wilson is available? This was the closest contact number for him I could find” Agent James asked.   
“Sure, one moment,” Oliver said handing the phone to Slade. 

“Hello,” Slade greeted.   
“Mr. Wilson, I am ringing as I landed in Starling City this morning for your debrief. I just wanted to know when and where it would be convenient for you?” Agent James asked politely.   
“Now, if you wish and at the Queen Mansion, Oliver can give you directions in a moment. There is a lot we need to talk about,” Slade explained.   
“That will be fine, thank you,” Agent James said. Slade handed the phone back to Oliver who gave directions and waited for the kid to hang up. When he did he gave Oliver a grim look.   
“Last chance if you don’t want ASIS involved kid,” Slade reminded him.   
“We need to know what they are planning, if mum is involved then she will just have to face the consequences of her actions, whatever they are,” Oliver stated. Slade gave Oliver a nod of support; the kid had grown from the scared boy he was when they first met.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine: 

Agent James pulled up to the Mansion almost an hour after he called. He was carrying a briefcase and was wearing a fancy suit, which Slade grumbled at.   
“I thought he would be a proper agent,” Slade whined.   
“Just because he knows how to dress doesn’t mean he’s not,” Sara pointed out as she looked at Agent James.   
“I thought you said your scarf was a part of your uniform?” Oliver asked confused. Slade raised one eyebrow at him.  
“You lied didn’t you?” Oliver realised.   
“Honestly you can be so gullible sometimes,” Slade pointed out.  
“It should be then, it was a very comfortable portable pillow,” Oliver reminded him. Slade nodded his agreement just as Agent James reached the front door and rang the doorbell. Slade went to open it. 

“Hello, I’m Agent James here to see Slade Wilson,” he greeted.   
“Hello, I’m Slade Wilson,” Slade said and moved aside to let the Agent in and then gestured towards the hallway that would take them both to the dining room. Once they were seated Slade introduced everyone.   
“This is meant to be a one on one debrief Mr. Wilson, I must ask for the rest of you to leave,” Agent James said.   
“That is not going to be possible, because Oliver, Shado and Sara were on the Island with me and the rest are all involved in another problem that has been brought to my attention,” Slade told him in a no-nonsense tone. Agent James went to say something but Slade leveled him a glare of epic proportions that promised violence if he decided to push it further. 

“They can stay if you agree to it,” Agent James compromised weakly. Slade nodded his agreement. Oliver snorted at how quickly James had given in; Slade would never respect him fully after that pitiful attempt. Slade quickly launched into a detailed account of the Island and what had occurred to him for the two years and everything he could remember concerning Fyer’s and his plans. Shado, Oliver and Sara contributed everything they knew and then Felicity after being encouraged by Slade explained what satellite she hacked to get aerial footage of the Island. 

“Okay, I have all this on record now, what was this other problem?” Agent James asked. Slade looked at Oliver, knowing he shouldn’t give the kid another chance but he knew it wasn’t going to end well for Moira or Malcolm and he felt sympathetic as Oliver had wanted to be reunited with his family for so long. Oliver and Tommy both nodded to him. Slade began explaining everything they knew and Felicity took over when he ended without prompt explaining what she had just found on the hard drive. 

“Malcolm has the same list that is in the book except his contains details such as phone numbers and addresses and some of the names have been deleted but I managed to access them and cross checking has found that all the people that were deleted are dead, but here’s the funny thing. The majority was deleted a day before they died.   
“He knew they were going to die,” Tommy said quietly shocked as he realised the implications.   
“It is more than likely that he killed them or ordered their deaths Mr. Merlyn,” Agent James said quietly. They all turned back to him. 

“I agree this is a very complex conspiracy that may even conclude with acts of terror but what do you want me to do about it? ASIS- first letter Australian, not American,” Agent James pointed out. Slade snorted.   
“I have been an ASIS agent for years and I don’t think I was ever on Australian soil except for between missions. I want you to get permission to make this a mission, I need agents that are new faces in America, we are too well known especially to Malcolm and Moira. We need to figure out what their end plan is and we need to stop it,” Slade told him.   
“You are no longer an Agent, Mr. Wilson, and no one else at this table is even remotely qualified,” Agent James said standing up trying to assert his control over the situation. 

“I will explain something to you, you will be making this an ASIS mission, I will have a minimum of 4 Agents under my command, yes it will be my command. And you know why? Because that mission was meant to be for a junior officer to handle, go in grab the guy off a DESERTED Island and get out. I wondered on the plane there why they needed two senior Agents for the mission. And I’m gathering the answer is that ASIS knew the full story from the beginning and decided not to tell us we were heading to a mercenary filled Island. So when I ask for something from now on, your only question will be when does it need to be done by, do you understand?” Slade said deadly serious. Agent James nodded weakly; Slade gave him another look and then shook his head and walked out the door towards the backyard. Oliver felt slightly sorry for the Agent James. 

“Hey, don’t worry about him, he’s all bark and no bite. Well he has some bite obviously, quite a lot of bite really. Anyway, do you want to join the team as one of the Agents Slade wants?” Oliver asked. Agent James looked at him shocked.   
“Why would you ask that?” he asked shocked.   
“Because I have known Slade for basically a year, and there was only ever about 4 mercenaries that could handle Slade when he gets like that when we were on the Island. And they held him captive for a year. You sort of managed to hold your own after 5 minutes and that’s impressive, so how about it?” Oliver asked.   
“Okay, why not” Agent James said. “I should have three more Agents here by the end of the week and then we can begin to plan. Felicity if you could transfer all the documents you have to this hard drive for me that would be greatly appreciated,” Agent James said handing one over to Felicity. She nodded and began transferring it and a copy of the list over, she was glad there was at least some useful information on it to help her new friends.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty 

Once Agent James left, Tommy rounded on Oliver.  
“I knew there was more, but human trafficking? The possibility of super soldiers? Didn’t you think we could handle it?” Tommy asked hurt that his best friend and people who he had begun to consider family had lied to him.   
“We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t know what to think ourselves. Ivo was sure this stuff would make super soldiers, cure all illnesses, a miracle cure if you would. But why would the Japanese just abandon something like that, either it doesn’t work or there are side effects that outweigh the pro’s. I’m not going to apologise for not telling you about this, because we agreed as a group to tell ASIS first, they are equipped to handle Ivo, not us,” Oliver told him. Tommy thought about continuing arguing with Oliver but then decided against it. They had all thought the best thing to do was keep it a secret and they had told them eventually and that would have to be good enough for him. 

“So what now?” Thea asked.   
“I think we need to sort out how we are going to deal with the list. Malcolm is feeling like a whole different problem to me and I don’t want to forget about the list,” Oliver said.   
“Agreed,” Tommy said remembering the hours he spent researching every name on the list and the anger he felt as he read what every person had done to the people of Starling City. The group made their way to the large sitting room and all found couches to sit on.   
“If it was just me I would end them,” Shado pointed out.   
“Starling deals with their crime a bit differently to you,” Sara said with a small smile.   
“I never been more glad about that fact,” Felicity noted slightly afraid about how casual Shado had made mass murder sound.   
“I think we try to scare some of the lesser low life’s first, see how that goes,” Slade inputted and Sara nodded her agreement.   
“We or just you?” Oliver asked.   
“Me,” Slade told him already knowing what the next words would be out of Oliver’s mouth.   
“Us, me and you,” Oliver corrected steeling himself for an argument of epic proportions; Slade was the most stubborn of them after Shado.   
“It’s not safe, and you aren’t fully trained,” Slade stated steeling himself for whatever counter argument Oliver was going to make.   
“Bullshit, it’s never been safe and I was a lot less trained on the Island and you were fine with me saving your life back then,” Oliver retorted. Slade silently agreed that it was a very good point and that he may need help to win this. He looked to Shado hoping for her to agree with him and then Oliver would stop arguing, he never argued with Shado. Shado shook her head.   
“Oliver has a point, he also knows this city and probably quite a few people on this list better than you do,” Shado pointed out.   
“Let Oliver help you Dad, you told me you are a team,” Joe said. Slade groaned, annoyed that no one could see his point of view, how could he keep the kid safe if he was out with him.   
“What if something happens and I can’t protect you?” Slade asked honestly voicing his fear.   
“I’m a grown adult, who has been under your tutelage for a year and also under Yao Fei’s and Shado’s. I will also be with you, the two of us together made grown mercenaries piss themselves remember?” Oliver reminded him with a cocky grin.   
“That’s gross Ollie,” Thea said wrinkling her nose, Joe nodded his agreement.   
“Okay, Tommy pick a fairly weak coward off the list that doesn’t have connections with the Mafia or gangs and then we can begin to research him. And then when we have all the information necessary the Kid and I will go after him and make him wish we never got off the Island,” Slade announced. Felicity had already assigned herself to the task of researching whomever Tommy picked and Sara made a mental note to tell her dad about this new development. 

“So what are we going to do if Moira comes back? This I assume will be the base of operations to figure out what Malcolm is doing?” Shado pointed out. The rest of them looked shocked not having thought about Moira actually living here considering she had only been home three nights since they had all been reunited.   
“We could ask Walter to talk to her, say that Oliver needs some space after she stormed out of here and that he will tell her when she can come back?” Tommy offered loosely.   
“That won’t work, Mum wouldn’t buy it and then it would make her curious and she would be back here within the day. Our best bet is to use the south wing,” Oliver said.   
“Wait the south wing, the no one ever goes there south wing because it’s banned?” Thea questioned shocked.   
“Why does no one ever go there?” Slade asked.   
“Mum and Dad told us never to go there, and it’s always been locked,” Oliver told him absently. Slade raised an eyebrow at him and Oliver frowned, confused about what Slade was trying to imply.   
“I’m disappointed in you, do you think a locked door will stop me?” Slade asked.   
“Oh,” Oliver said understanding immediately as did the rest of the group. 

The group immediately began heading towards the south wing with Thea in the lead. As she stopped in front of a fancy carved wooden door she moved aside to let Slade have access to the door knob. Slade immediately began picking the lock and within seconds a clear click could be heard and the door groaned, as it swung open slightly. Slade stood up straight and then turned his head to look towards Oliver and with his nod he pushed the door the remaining distance until it gently thudded against a wall. Quickly checking to make sure there were no booby traps, alarms or noticeable cameras he stepped forward into the hallway that had 5 rooms leading off of it on each side, all but the last one at the end of the hallway was closed. The last room was dark inside and gave Slade a weary feeling as he cautiously took another step forward hoping he was prepared to deal with whatever they would encounter.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One: 

“Anyone else thinking this could be the beginning of a bad horror movie,” Tommy pointed out.   
“Blondes always die in those, and I don’t have appropriate running shoes on,” Felicity reminded him.   
“You’re not blonde,” Tommy pointed out.  
“I used to be, and was actually thinking of going back since Thea suggested it when we were still looking for Oliver,” Felicity explained.   
“I’ll protect you Blondie,” Tommy offered throwing an arm around her shoulders. Slade snorted at the nickname but didn’t comment, waiting to see if she would actually go blonde before agreeing upon the nickname. He carefully approached the first closed door and scanned the dust looking for any discrepancies and finding none. 

Slade took a deep breath and opened the door. It was completely dark inside and there were no little red or green lights indicating cameras. He gently felt the sider for a light switch and as he found on he gently flicked it on. Light immediately came to the room and a large meeting room that seemed to take up the remainder of the doors on the left side of the hallway. In the middle of the room was a large meeting table, like what was adjacent to Walter’s office at Queen Consolidated, but it was what was in the middle of the table that interested Slade the most. A book, with the same front cover and appearance as Oliver’s but much thicker and older. After another scan for threats he gave the all clear signal and allowed everyone into the room. He gave a small satisfied nod as he noticed the other 4 doors were in this room and saved him having to investigate those.

Oliver moved towards the book and paused for a moment before grabbing the book and opening it. The first page wasn’t blank like in his father’s but a list, titled: The Undertakers. Malcolm’s, his parents and many other family friends names were listed there. His father’s name and several others he knew to be dead had a line through them. He flicked through the book and began grinning. With every name came an address or several known properties and crimes, some that Tommy hadn’t even found out through his research. Slade came over and looked over Oliver’s shoulder, one eyebrow raising as he scanned the pages realizing that they had uncovered more concerning Malcolm’s and Moira’s plans. 

Slade read through the profile that Oliver currently had open. Adam Hunt, a successful businessman who had become this way after basically stealing money off many innocent people. No connections to the mob that were listed and only a few bodyguards that protected him in confrontations with his victims.   
“He looks like a good target,” Slade suggested. Oliver nodded having been thinking the same thing. Sara and Shado came up and read the profile and nodded their agreeance. 

“Should we investigate the other rooms?” Tommy asked, as every draw had been opened, with most empty and stationary or alcohol in the rest. The good alcohol as well, stuff that usually only made an appearance during parties with the city's elite. But then again, it was the cities elite that was coming to these Undertakers meetings. 

“Yeah, let's go to the other side and work our way down, all the doors on this side belong to this room,” Slade said and took the lead making his way to the other side of the hallway and the first door, once again checking for anything unpleasant. Once satisfied he opened the door and switched on the lights, it was another long room but instead of the massive meeting table this one was full of maps hung on large display stands. Oliver and Tommy realised they were maps of Starling City but there were more maps of the Glades specifically. Some were marked in sections or had pins in it with dates clearly written next to each marking. 

“I think this might be a job for you Felicity,” Oliver said quietly, but as everyone was silent his voice sounded loud.   
“This would take forever,” Felicity noted as she took in the dozens of maps and the markings on each one.   
“I’ve never been one for studying,” Oliver snorted at Tommy’s statement, amused. “As I was saying, while studying is not an expertise of mine I will gladly help you research all this. I got quite good at it when researching the list,” Tommy said.   
“On one condition,” Felicity told him with a grin.   
“What?” Tommy asked intrigued, enjoying talking with Felicity and making a realization that he had never become friends with someone as fast as he had with Felicity.   
“You pay for the Big Belly Burger we will be consuming while researching,” Felicity said.   
“That was already guaranteed, I heard they have a new milkshake flavor,” Tommy said. Felicity gave him a blinding grin, which Tommy returned. Slade and Shado made eye contact and rolled their eyes subtlety at the exchange. The two of them were horribly cute when they were together. Slade didn’t think that they would end up together though; they had more of a sibling bond than anything. 

“Last room,” Oliver asked oblivious to the relationship forming between his best friend and Felicity. Slade snorted and lead the way again and after checking turning on the light switch. This room was smaller, though still the size of a decent apartment and basically empty only containing a desk with a computer on it and a picture frame with a rare Queen family moment. It had been the first and last time they had gone camping, and they had all looked relaxed posing in front of a waterfall. Oliver remembered that moment fondly, the day after when he and Thea had mistakenly played in the forest containing poison ivy, not so much. 

Without having been asked Felicity got on the computer and booted it up. Within seconds she had overridden the password and gotten into the computer.   
“Huh, that’s weird,” Felicity remarked aloud. The group turned their interest to her.   
“What?” Thea asked interested.   
“There are only two video files on the whole computer, and both are under heavy encryption walls. Like serious, heavier than FBI, CIA, ASIS walls,” Felicity told them.   
“Do I want to know how you know how heavy ASIS encryption walls are?” Slade asked seriously though his eyes revealed he was amused.   
“I got curious,” Felicity told him nervously.   
“We were better than the FBI and CIA though?” Slade asked. Sara and Shado shared a grin as Slade’s competitive head reared. Felicity rapidly nodded and Joe watched concerned, ready to try and catch her glasses that were moving higher with every nod. 

“I think Felicity and Tommy should focus on the maps first and then Felicity can sort out the computer,” Oliver suggested. The rest of the group agreed.   
“Well I guess this place is out as a secret hide out,” Sara noted.   
“Did you see the dust everywhere, I would say this place hasn’t been touched in a year maybe more or less,” Shado said.   
“The Gambit,” Oliver exclaimed horrified as another piece of the puzzle fell into place. Shado nodded sadly, it did fit the timeline.   
“What are they up too?” Thea asked quietly, no one answered as they all were thinking the same thing.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two: 

Author’s Note: Something different with this chapter. It’s Sara’s first day at the Police Academy. 

“You’ll be fine,” Shado told her for what seemed like the millionth time. Sara still looked as nervous as she had on the Island, jumping at every sound.   
“You’re going to do great sweetie, it can seem scary and you’re allowed to be nervous but the first day and even the first month are going to be very easy to help you adjust,” Lance reassured his daughter as he parked the car out front of the Police Academy. Walter had pulled strings and moved Sara to the front of the queue to get her a place as early as possible and they had gotten a call two days ago accepting Sara into the Academy.   
“For so long I never thought I would see you again, be home again and some days it’s still hard to believe I am home with you all. And now with all this stuff going on with Moira and Malcolm and being accepted into the Academy so fast, it’s just surreal.” Sara explained. She gave Shado and Lance a smile and exited the car.   
“Okay, see you this afternoon,” Sara said and took a deep breath before she turned and made her way up the stairs.   
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Lance asked, concern evident in his voice.   
“She has faced so much already, I think she will be fine,” Shado reassured him. 

Sara sat nervously at the back of the classroom looking down at her notepad and doodling waiting for the instructor to arrive when a skinny man sat next to her with a slight pant.   
“I’m not late am I?” the man asked frantically pulling his notepad out of his shoulder bag.   
“Technically yes, but the instructor hasn’t arrived so I think you’re fine,” Sara answered him slightly amused. The man offered his hand out awkwardly considering how close they were sitting next to each other.   
“Barry Allen, and you are?” Barry introduced himself.   
“Sara Lance,” Sara told him. A few people in the row in front of them turned to look curiously making Sara duck her head. Barry glared at them until they turned back.   
“Hey, it’s alright. I’m used to the stares and you will get used to them too eventually. It’s sad but true, so are you going to become a cop?” Barry asked with a smile. Sara was curious about what Barry had said and made a mental note to ask later when they were somewhere more private.   
“That’s what we are here for right?” Sara asked amused. This was the Police Academy after all.  
“Nah, I am becoming a Forensic Scientist with the Police Force, I have to take almost all the same courses as you, minus a few like apprehending people and basically the physical stuff,” Barry told her with a grin.   
“Well like my Dad used to always say, it looks like a strong wind could knock you over, so that might be a good thing,” Sara joked with a grin.   
“You’ll have to protect me then,” Barry joked back and then gave a head gesture as the instructor walked in. 

After an hour of lessons they were allowed thirty minutes for lunch. Sara and Barry had both packed lunch so they were among the first people sitting in the cafeteria room and therefore got to pick the table in the back corner away from everyone that were whispering and pointing.   
“Earlier, you mentioned you were used to the stares, do you mind telling me why?” Sara asked as she picked up her sandwich to take a bite. Barry took a deep breath to steady him before he began.   
“One night when I was a kid, a man killed my mother but my father was arrested and found guilty for her murder. He is still in prison today for something he didn’t do,” Barry explained.   
“How could they convict him if it was someone else?” Sara asked confused.   
“The man who killed my mother, he was incredibly fast. Not just Olympic fast, but he was just a yellow blur as he ran, it wasn’t until he stopped that I saw it was a man in a yellow suit. No one believed me, they think I couldn’t handle the fact my dad killed my mother and made a story up in my head to cope,” Barry told her honestly even though he was waiting for her to get up and leave him after telling her what he knew had happened. No one including his foster family believed him, why would a person he met just hours ago. Sara on the other hand was a bit skeptical but she also knew that many things happened that couldn’t be explained. She had spent months of a ship with a man obsessed with a drug that could cure anything and make super soldiers. And he had found it. 

‘It was nice meeting you,” Barry told her with a sigh, taking her silence for the end of their brief friendship, like with so many others in high school. Sara blinked surprised.   
“Barry, I believe you,” Sara told him, Barry responded by opening and shutting his jaw as he tried to think of something to say.   
“Okay, maybe I should elaborate on that a bit. I believe you when you say your father is innocent and someone else did it. I also believe this guy was wearing a yellow suit and he was fast. Maybe not as fast as you’re saying because you were a kid, it was night and it was obviously traumatic but I have heard of weirder things that someone super fast, so I can keep an open mind about that too,” Sara told him.   
“You’re the first person to ever believe me,” Barry told her, still shocked.   
“You know, if an IT person didn’t believe a kid, probably a similar age to what you were back then, me and my friends would still be stuck on that Island. So yeah, I believe you, and I might be able to get my Dad and a good friend of mine to take another look at the case. Hell Slade might be able to scare enough people into releasing your father,” Sara mused.   
“Slade?” Barry asked nervously at the fact one man could be scary enough to accomplish that.   
“Oh, he’s a big teddy bear, mostly, kind of, well not really, he’s quite terrifying when he wants to be actually. Don’t tell him I called him a teddy bear either,” Sara said.   
“Why would I tell him, I’ve never met him,” Barry asked.   
“Because you’re coming to lunch on the weekend so Dad and Slade can hear your side of the story,” Sara told him with a smile.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty- Three: 

Slade, Tommy, Oliver and Walter walked into the mansion after their first lesson in business at Queen Consolidated. Slade was the one that had had the most difficulty as a part from the basics of business, most deals were made with negotiations and manipulations, whereas as Slade was more of a direct in your face kind of guy. 

They went into the dining room to find a note with a fancy V symbol that everyone had decided to use to indicate if there was anyone in the wing they had converted for their own operations. Only after Felicity had completely secured the place so that only a bomb could be used to get past all the security she had put in place. They made their way up and waited for the facial recognition program to let them in one by one. Sara had asked what would happen if someone who wasn’t in the program attempted to get in and Slade had given a devious grin while Felicity had paled and so no more questions were asked after that. 

“What’s up?” Tommy asked as he took a seat towards the middle of the table.   
“Slade and Oliver are going after Adam Hunt tonight,” Shado told them.   
“Why so soon?” Walter asked nervous, he had been fine while it had just been a conversation, but actually going ahead with the plan was another thing.   
“We just got a heads up from one of our guys undercover, he’s going to forcibly evict a whole apartment building worth of low income earners tomorrow with no warning. That’s hundreds of people that will be sleeping on the streets tomorrow night. If Slade and Oliver can scare him into not doing it, well the pros outweigh the cons for me at the moment,” Lance told them looking exhausted.   
“Rough day?” Thea asked concerned for one of the only adults she knew and trusted.   
“We had a meeting today, they are slashing our budget but demand they we do more,” Lance explained.   
“I’ll take care of it tomorrow,” Tommy said with a shrug as he was replying to a message on his phone.   
“Merlyn what are you talking about?” Lance asked confused.   
“Dad’s been messaging me today. He’s completely over the moon that I am deciding to grow up and take business seriously and be a good friend and help Oliver and his new friends readjust to life. So he gave me 3 million dollars to go buy the condo I was eyeing a few months back, I’ll donate it to the Police Force tomorrow,” Tommy said with a shrug.   
“Money really means nothing to you does it?” Lance asked shaking his head in amazement.   
“You got to remember, our parents kept us in seclusion until it was too late. We grew up with other kids that were in the exact same position. We were raised to scoff at millionaires and turn our noses up at anyone but the elite few. We knew how to give a correct handshake before we learnt how to tie our shoes. We knew the correct greetings and table manners before we knew our first nursery rhyme. So yeah we still don’t have any consideration for money, but give us five minutes with the snobbiest people you could meet and we would have them figuratively begging for mercy before the time was up. There’s a reason Ollie and I rebelled so hard when we became teenagers. Because once we were allowed to mingle with kids our own age like Laurel and Sara we realised how fucked up we were, that we weren’t normal and we didn’t have the skillset to survive in the real world. Hell, I can only imagine what Oliver was like when he first got to the Island,” Tommy said quietly. 

“It’s even worse for a girl. I was lucky I had Ollie. I was only 8 and we had my birthday party and even though I only asked for Ollie, Tommy and a couple of other people to come mum invited lots of people, most of them boys. She made me twirl around and show them I learnt all my manners and could sit and do everything a lady could do. Then she started talking about engagements with the other parents. She was arranging my marriage for me on my 8th birthday party. Ollie overheard and stormed in the room and completely went off at them all, and Ollie told Tommy to get me to the car and he would follow us. They took me to a kids playground and they gave me a proper birthday party with just the three of us, it’s one of my favourite memories,” Thea recounted with a small smile. 

“After all this is sorted I am bringing moving to Australia on the table again kid,” Slade said quietly though everyone heard.   
“I don’t do heat, and neither does Thea,” Oliver reminded him.   
“You know there are parts of Australia that don’t get hot,” Slade stated.   
“Not enough for my liking, and they tend to be right on the ocean. Do you know what the moisture would do to my hair?” Oliver said pretending to be offended and shocked. He got the reaction he was hoping for when everyone laughed and the mood was lightened. 

Two hours later, Slade and Oliver were crouched down in front of the building Adam Hunt owned and was currently located, which they knew thanks to Felicity. 

“Okay guys, his phone GPS signal is moving, it looks like he will be outside in about a minute if he doesn’t stop. There are two other phone signals either side of him and I just found out why I can’t find the security cameras in the building, there is none. The closest one is on the outside of the building but the car park is free. So I would suggest waiting until he gets to the car before doing anything, then you have more space to move” Felicity coordinated through the devices in their ears.   
“Be careful and remember, nothing physical to Adam Hunt, you can knock out the body guards but you can’t touch him,” Lance reminded.   
“Stay safe,” Shado ordered. Sara and Walter were watching Thea and Joe in the other room so they wouldn’t be witness if something went wrong.   
“Now,” Tommy and Felicity said together in a whisper. Adam Hunt flanked by two bodyguards walked out of the building. 

Slade and Oliver silently followed them making sure they stayed to the shadows and circled into the car park. With a quick nod to Slade, Oliver silently advanced towards one of the bodyguards and with a hard but silent motion he hit a spot in the back that instantly sent the guy down and before Adam Hunt and the other bodyguard realised he quickly sent the other bodyguard down too. A quick application of pressure on each of their necks eased them into unconsciousness. 

As Adam Hunt ran, Slade grinned as the man took the expected route and as he was hidden by shadows all he did was put his foot out and Adam Hunt went flying landing hard on the ground.   
“I would stay down if I was you,” Slade growled, his voice instantly morphing into one with a Texan accent thanks to another device of Felicity’s. Adam Hunt cowered but smartly did not attempt to move.   
“Here’s how it’s going to be, you have pissed off some very important people with your actions lately. But you're still useful to them, so we got the no kill orders. You're very lucky they are giving you a second chance, most people we get sent after never get found again. Don’t even attempt to evict those people tomorrow, and quite a few of your recent actions aren’t well received by my employers either. They didn’t exactly elaborate on those but I’m sure you can figure it out if they are completely pissed off with the eviction. Make no mistake Mr. Hunt, if you don’t change things quickly I’m going to have fun with our next meeting, my time is too valuable to waste on the likes of you,” Slade threatened him and with a quick nod to Oliver who had been keeping an eye on the guards and the surrounding area, they ran off down an alley that connected with one of the busiest streets in Starling. 

“I kind of want to congratulate you right now and also go hide in a corner and never come out,” Tommy told him.   
“Thanks little brother,” Slade told him, the Texan accent still masking his own though.   
“Take that thing off, and we will see you soon,” Lance ordered, hoping that this would pay off.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty- Four: 

Sara and Shado walked down towards the address Barry had given them. It was a coffee shop that also had a wonderful and reasonably priced lunch menu. Sara and Barry had become close as they spent more time together at the Academy and after hearing all about Sara’s friends he agreed to meet Shado. Shado had agreed, curious to meet the man that had helped Sara come out of the shell she had been hiding in since returning to Starling. Even her nightmares were less frequent since she had started at the Police Academy leaving Shado and the others to conclude it had to do with Barry. 

“There he is,” Sara said shocking Shado out of her thoughts and she followed Sara’s gaze to a thin gangly boy sitting towards the back of the coffee shop.   
“Are you sure he is old enough to be in the Academy?” Shado asked half teasing and half serious. Sara gave her the look that Slade usually gave Oliver when he tried and failed to make a joke and bumped into her gently in retribution.   
“Yes,” Sara told her.   
“Hey Barry, this is Shado,” Sara introduced as they got close enough to be in conversation range. Barry immediately stood up and held his hand out to Shado.   
“Hey Sara. Hello Shado pleased to meet you,” Barry greeted.   
“Good morning, it is nice to finally meet you, Sara hasn’t stopped talking about you,” Shado said decided to tease Sara a bit more. Sara blushed as she predicted but interestingly enough so did Barry.   
“Have you ordered yet?” Sara asked trying to steer the conversation.   
“No, I was waiting for you,” Barry replied, he looked around and caught the eye of a waiter and signaled. Once the orders were placed the three of them went into an awkward silence.   
“How do you like Starling City Shado?” Barry asked deciding to break the silence.   
“It is tolerable, there is not enough green here,” Shado told him honestly.   
“It must be hard for you to make the change from that Island to here, I couldn’t think of anything more different. Dad took me camping once; we hiked for hours before we stopped to set up camp. He said there was no point in trying to connect with nature if you stay close to civilization.” Barry said smiling.   
“He sounds like a smart man,” Shado remarked.   
“Yeah,” Barry said with a small sigh. 

“So what do you think about having lunch with us back at the Mansion when we finish our coffee?” Sara suggested after they had spent almost a half hour casually chatting, with the main conversation being Barry catching Shado up on the advances in medicine leaving Sara a bit lost.   
“Really?” Barry asked a bit surprised.   
“Yes, you can watch us practice some archery or join in if you want,” Shado offered.   
“Dad will be there too, so we can arrange a time to meet after practice,” Sara told him. Barry smiled gratefully at her.   
“Why not, though I don’t know much about archery at all,” Barry told them truthfully.   
“Neither do most of us, Shado is the only expert. Oliver and Thea are surprisingly quick studies but that’s about it skill wise. I’m still building up the strength to be able to use a bow for long periods. I prefer my sticks,” Sara explained as they were walking out of the shop.   
“Sticks?” Barry asked.   
“The proper weapon which we just got now we are back in Starling is a bo-staff that can separate to become two separate sticks. On the Island I just had two shorter sticks and a really long one,” Sara explained.   
“So you prefer the bow Shado?” Barry asked interested.   
“Yes, but I also enjoy simple sparring,” Shado mused as they reached the car, the driver already having seen them and had gotten out to open the door to the Queen’s limo. Shado and Sara got in with no hassle but Barry just looked awed for a moment before getting in and proceeding to look around the limo with his mouth slightly open in shock. Shado and Sara shared an amused glance as Barry blushed when he realised they were watching him. 

“Who is he?” Slade asked forcefully. Lance and Oliver couldn’t help but grin as they knew Slade was acting but Barry didn’t and proceeded to pale in fear. Lance had also been in an excellent mood since Tommy’s money had come in and Adam Hunt had actually dropped the rent on the low incomers at the apartment he was going to evict them from.   
“I’m Barry, Barry Allen. Sara and Shado said it was okay to come for lunch but if it’s not…” Barry trailed off, his eyes scanned for the quickest exit.   
“He’s just joking, Slade apologise,” Sara said walking over and put a hand on his shoulder in support whilst glaring at Slade. Slade however just raised an eyebrow at the way Sara had just given him an order. She must like the boy more than he realised. He glanced over to Shado who discreetly nodded at him for confirmation. 

“I’m Slade, the kid can give the rest of the introductions while I go finish setting up the targets,” Slade said giving the kid what he hoped was a friendly nod as he picked up the measuring tape he had come in for to ensure they were exactly the distance Shado had asked for.   
“Hey, I’m Oliver, I also answer to kid as Slade kindly pointed out. Over there is Tommy who you may also hear being called Little Brother by Slade, then there’s Thea aka Speedy, Detective Lance, Joe, Walter, Felicity and you already know Shado and Sara answers to Little Bird,” Oliver introduced.   
“I don’t answer to Speedy,” Thea told Barry seriously giving Oliver a grumpy glare.   
“Little Bird?” Barry asked.   
“Long story, I’ll tell you later, we have some archery to practice,” Sara said enthusiastically. Oliver grabbed the handful of bows and Tommy and Lance split the mountain of arrows between them. Weirdly enough Sara, Thea and Joe started carrying a lot of large bowls and Walter began unraveling the hose. Barry felt like an idiot not offering to help so he just followed along quietly until the boy, Joe he remembered quickly, came up beside him.   
“Dad can be a little scary sometimes. But that’s because he had to stop bad people for so long he forgets sometimes that he is with family and not the bad men. He is really nice mostly,” Joe told him. Barry softened completely, hearing Joe defend his dad.   
“I’ll remember that, thanks Joe,” Barry said.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty- Five: 

Archery practice hadn’t been a complete disaster. Oliver and Thea had made more progress hitting targets, Slade not so much though he could throw the arrows perfectly. Lance and Tommy had actually progressed enough for Shado to allow them to have their own targets. Everyone else however was still at the hitting water stage. Barry had managed to talk to Lance when they were packing up and they had agreed to meet the next day with Shado and Sara to talk about Barry’s father. 

Walter and Felicity were at Queen Consolidated when they had called, asking the group to come in.   
“What’s so urgent?” Thea asked interested and also slightly annoyed. They had left an unfinished game of Uno in the living room and she had two draw four cards she was going to use on Oliver the second they got back home.   
“Albert Davis, a corrupt business man. I’ve been going through well everything I can; you wouldn’t believe how many searches I have constantly running. I think I am actually slowing down everyone else’s Internet speed at QC in fact,” Felicity said beginning to ramble.   
‘Felicity,” Oliver prompted gently.   
“He trafficks Oliver, he trafficks children,” Walter told him grimly then turned angrily to face the window, his fists clenched.   
“I have had lunch with him many of times, played golf and all this time he kidnaps and sells children. How could I have not known?” Walter asked angrily, talking more to himself than the rest of the group.   
“If we are going with that line of thinking then I must be the worst one in the room. How could I have not known about my dad?” Tommy asked.   
“How could I have not known about mum?” Thea echoed.   
“Or me? And I’m older than Thea,” Oliver said. Walter turned around and smiled gratefully at the people in the room he considered family.   
“Maybe I am being a bit too hard on myself,” Walter allowed. 

“So what are we going to do about this guy?” Sara asked.   
“I think the kid and I need to pay Albert Davis a visit,” Slade stated.   
“Felicity could you find something that we could use to threaten him with?” Oliver asked.   
“Sure, when do you need it by?” Felicity said already absorbed by whatever she was doing on the computer.   
“We go after him tonight. No one else will be taken by this mongrel,” Slade growled. Thea and Joe were standing at the back as they had both went over to get some water from the refreshments table.   
“This guy is so dead,” Joe whispered to Thea after hearing the tone of his dad’s voice. Thea nodded in agreement. 

Slade and Oliver were standing on top of the roof next to the building where Albert Davis currently was. Slade was double checking the rope that was connected to the grappling hook.   
“Are you sure this is the only way we can get to this guy?” Oliver whined still not on board with the idea of relying on his archery skills to get them across two buildings roughly 20 feet tall.   
“Yes kid, and if you ask again I am going to make sure you regret it,” Slade said. Oliver gulped and nodded. 

“Are we clear on the plan?” Lance asked through the comms. Shado and Sara had brought him up to speed while Felicity, Slade and Oliver planned. Lance had wholeheartedly agreed and had then helped with the plan. The end game was to find out where he was keeping the kids and then Lance was going to immediately leave, grab back up and go save all the kids being held captive.   
“Yes,” Oliver grumbled testing his bow and getting ready to line the shot up. It didn’t help he only had one chance.   
“Oliver if you don’t get this shot I’m going to make my own little mark next to the one my father gave you,” Shado threatened. Oliver’s eyes widened but he took a deep breath and let the arrow fly. For one of the only times in his life he blocked every sound around him except that of the arrow flying. The dull thud of the arrow hitting the beam above the window, exactly where it was meant to land made him turn to Slade in euphoria and hug him while laughing.   
“Well done kid,” Slade said with warmth. “But you have five seconds to get your hands off of me,” Slade told him. Oliver immediately let go but the massive grin on his face didn’t disappear. Slade attached the grappling hook and offered a hand to the kid. Once he was sure he had a strong enough grip on both the hook and Oliver he jumped off the building with no warning. He openly grinned at the look of horror on Oliver’s face and positioned himself to jump through the window. 

The moment they crashed through the window Slade let go of Oliver and grabbed the nearest guy and threw him into a wall. Quickly he made short work of everyone but Albert Davis, whom Oliver had an arrow aimed at. Slade happily noted that Yao Fei’s hood combined with Thea’s hasty face paint job completely obscured his identity. Slade was wearing his ASIS mask to hide his own identity. 

“Albert Davis, you have failed the organisation I work for. We keep tabs on those that launder, whether it is in arms, drugs or people. And for you to get on my employers list means you have gotten too big for your boots, so to speak. That ends now. In fact they want your business in people trading to end immediately. That’s why we are here. And don’t think about calling for help. We have people everywhere, in every government department, in every business, and everyone of them would rather see you dead than lift a finger to help you. Now here is what is going to happen. You are going to give us the address or addresses where your shipments of people are. All of them. And we let you live as we never got a kill order. But if you hesitate or either of us think you are withholding anything, then my friend here is going to have some fun with you until we are sure you have told us everything, and then you are going to write a very convincing note and commit suicide by jumping out of this conveniently broken window,” Oliver told Albert with a deadly calm tone. Albert who looked seconds away from passing out quickly began scribbling addresses on a close piece of paper. Slade left Oliver to it while he quickly assembled another rope to an arrow. 

“Here, this is all of them worldwide,” Albert said giving the piece of paper over with his hand shaking like a leaf. Oliver looked over the paper and then glanced at Slade who nodded his agreeance that the man was being truthful.   
“My advice, don’t leave the people scene for another laundering one. Because if we get sent back to deal with you I’ll make sure you won’t survive the next encounter,” Slade threatened. Albert nodded still clearly terrified. Oliver quickly took the arrow, made aim and fired. Once again the shot was perfect and once again Slade didn’t give him any warning as they went flying between buildings. The second they had landed Oliver quickly read out the addresses over the comms and Lance was already dialing before he finished reading the last address.   
“Good work guys” Felicity said.   
“You just saved a lot of children from a horrible life,” Tommy added.   
“Good shooting kid,” Slade praised, leaving Slade to silently curse himself because the kid had that idiot grin plastered all over his face again. 

“I am sorry we couldn’t make it yesterday, something big came up at work yesterday,” Lance said apologizing as he went to shake Barry’s hand.   
“No that’s okay. I saw it on the news. 11 locations and 240 kids saved. That must have been very stressful for you yesterday and I did say to Sara we could make it another day if you wanted to take today to rest,” Barry offered as he sat back down, Sara and Shado sitting to the sides of him leaving Lance to sit across.   
“No, to be honest there were a couple of guys that did most of the preliminary leg work and then together we stormed the addresses.” Lance told him. Sara and Shado had smirked at the all too obvious reference to Oliver and Slade. 

“So why don’t you tell me everything about your dad and his case and I’ll see what I can do,” Lance offered. Sara had already explained everything to him and he agreed with her that a blur probably wasn’t the actual murderer; Barry had just been a kid at the time and had been asleep before coming down. He knew just how weird the mind could twist real life in an attempt to protect itself and came to the conclusion that whoever murdered Barry’s mother must have been wearing yellow for it to be still so vivid in Barry’s mind. And Barry’s dad had not been wearing yellow that night. The lack of anyone else’s fingerprints didn’t concern him, he could name dozens of thieves and murderers that never leave prints at their crime scenes or had stuff with them to clean the prints off before they left. The one thing that confused him is how Barry had managed to go from witnessing his mother’s murder to down the block within seconds, without any of the neighbours seeing him.   
“I’ll look into it, I believe that it wasn’t your dad. If I can find a loophole or some mistake we can bring it to a lawyer and get your dad released on a technicality. If I can’t then I know a few people a bit higher up than me who could pull some strings,” Lance said thinking of asking Slade for a favour considering his connections with ASIS. 

“Thank you so much,” Barry said with a slight quiver betraying how emotional he was.   
“Don’t thank me until your dad is free,” Lance told him with a smile.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty- Six: 

Sara had given Barry the option of coming back to the Mansion after lunch and Barry had jumped at the chance. He hadn’t made any friends except Sara since he had moved to Starling and was eager to socialize with people. They were also extremely interesting and diverse people. Slade especially seemed to treat everyone differently but he was extra gentle with his son, Thea and weirdly Oliver. He still wanted to know where the nickname of kid came from too.   
“Hey Sara, why does Slade call Oliver kid?” Barry asked as they got into the limo. Sara turned to Shado and they both shared a grin.   
“Where to start Barry, where to start?” Shado began amused as they drove towards home. 

“Shado, Slade said to ask you if we can do some more combat practice?” Thea asked the second they had walked through the front door.   
“Why do you need my permission?” Shado asked amused. Slade was currently sprawled out across the couch with Oliver sitting against it on the floor the both of them seemingly napping. Shado walked over to them looking concerned.   
“Nightmares?” Shado asked. Oliver just groaned in response and Slade grunted.   
“Couldn’t get back to sleep so this idiot decided we would watch something. We were looking through the channels and one of them had a Prison Break marathon. Brothers trying to break out prison, pretty good show to watch for 9 straight hours,” Oliver explained.   
‘So you are both tired?” Shado asked amused.   
“We weren’t going back to sleep after those nightmares,” Oliver stated opening one eye slightly to give off a slight glare.   
“How bad?” Lance asked concerned, going over to where Joe was building Lego to help him.   
“Billy,” Oliver explained shortly.   
“The year,” Slade said deciding to go with a short explanation too.   
“The year?” Barry asked before realizing this was probably very personal stuff. Slade opened his eyes and stared at Barry curiously like he was trying to solve a puzzle. He had obviously decided something as he closed his eyes again.   
“I got to the Island a year before the kid did. I was captured by mercenaries and my partner Billy turned against me. I spent a year being tortured before I managed to escape,” Slade explained.   
“What happened to Billy?” Barry asked with the same sense of fascination that people had with terrible crimes.   
“Slade killed him,” Oliver said with a smile. The terrifying thing was that Slade smiled too. The first time Barry had ever seen him smile was in response to murdering someone. Barry wasn’t sure how to respond to this so he looked helplessly over to Sara, whose expression was soft and understanding.   
“Well you two can sleep the day away but I want to spar,” Sara announced.   
“Me too!” Thea said happily.   
“That’s nice,” Oliver said turning his head into the throw rug that was hung over the couch for decoration attempting to go back to sleep.   
“You’re getting up, with you this tired I might actually beat you,” Thea told him with a devious smirk. Slade opened one eye in time to see the look on Thea’s face.   
“Thea is truly devious, kid,” Slade told Oliver with a grin heaving himself up.   
“You like her so much you spar with her,” Oliver said. Slade began wondering how he was going to get Oliver up when he followed Lance’s line of sight to where Tommy and Joe were almost giggling as they filled up water balloons. Slade caught Lance’s attention silently and motioned towards his son and Tommy and then to Oliver. Lance’s eyes widened as he realised Slade wanted them to drench Oliver awake. Lance walked over and made hand motions towards Oliver and silently Joe and Tommy approached each of their hands holding two water balloons. With a nod they dropped the 8 water balloons on Oliver. 

Oliver jumped up in shock and as he looked around wildly, his drenched hair covering his face leaving him blind.   
“I really need to cut this,” Oliver said angrily as he pushed it out of his face. Once he could see he noticed the ecstatic look on Tommy and Joe’s face.   
“You know what Thea, I will join you in sparring. But first I’m going to show Tommy some new moves,” Oliver said echoing Thea’s devious smirk from earlier. Tommy gulped, turned and ran with Joe following right behind him. 

“Agent James is here, he’s with four other people who look like agents,” Felicity said looking at her phone at the footage from all the cameras she had placed around the building. She had a smile on her face from Tommy and Joe’s practical joke though.   
“I’ll go then if you are busy,” Barry said.   
“I’ll ask one of the drivers to take you home, sorry about this we had no clue they were coming to talk with Slade today,” Sara said escorting Barry out.  
“I’ll go and bring them up,” Slade offered. He had been enjoying watching Oliver use the moves he had taught him to drop Tommy repeatedly. Thea and Sara were starting to spar together; Lance and Joe were learning the basics from Shado who had offered to teach them. Joe had learnt a little from his dad before the Island and had been progressing fast since being reunited with his dad. 

“Good morning Agent Wilson,” one of the new agents said as soon as Slade had opened the door. Slade flashed back to Fyers and Billy taunting him, never using his first name only Agent Wilson. Slade forced the memories down and shot the worst glare he could muster towards the agent.   
“It’s Slade,” he growled. He flung the door open wider and motioned for them to come in.   
“You said last conversation we had that you found somewhere to make our base of operations?” Agent James asked.   
“Yes, there is a wing in the Mansion that had been off limits to Thea and Oliver so we investigated it. Turns out that’s where Moira, Malcolm and a shit tonne of other people must have been meeting. They call themselves the Undertakers. We have fortified it with alarms and other technology to ensure they can’t get back in there and have turned it into our base of operations.” Slade told them.   
“Lead the way,” Agent James said.   
As they made their way to the main staircase they came across the others and a particularly unhappy Tommy and together they made their way up to the South Wing.   
“G’day mates,” Tommy said cheerfully with a poor attempt at an Australian accent. The ASIS agents looked towards Slade incredulously.   
“That was pathetic Merlyn,” Slade told him.   
“Merlyn, as in Malcolm Merlyn?” one of the agents queried.   
“He’s my biological father, nothing else,” Tommy told them deadly serious as they made their way into the South Wing, going one by one pausing until Felicity’s scanners approved them with a little shrill beep. 

“Here’s the book,” Slade said giving it to Agent James.   
“What are the rest of your names?” Joe asked.   
“Agents Harry, Clay, David, and Dean,” Felicity muttered her fingers still flying across her laptop. Oliver was actually wondering if she ever slowed down as she typed or if she was trying to attempt to break a record or something.   
“That is classified information ma’am,” Agent Clay informed her. Felicity snorted in response causing Agent James to smile.   
“I don’t think anything is classified if Ms. Smoak has a laptop in her hands,” Agent James informed the others. Agent James continued to look through the book his frown deepening with every page turned.   
“It basically admits to everything they are forcing these crooks to do,” Agent James said quietly.   
“I love it when criminals are such dip-shits that they leave a list of everyone in their organisation laying around,” Agent Clay said with a smirk after examining the ‘Undertakers’ list at the beginning of the book. Oliver, Tommy and Thea all bristled at the insult towards their parents but didn’t say anything because they knew it to be true.   
“So will you look into them, Malcolm in particular?” Slade asked. 

“Of course, we got permission to accept the mission,” Agent James said.   
“Mission?” Joe asked frowning at his dad.   
“Oh Joe, I know I promised you I would never work for ASIS again, but we need to figure out what is going on here and stop it before people are hurt. You understand that right?” Slade said kneeling down so he could be face to face with his son. Joe didn’t say anything but instead leant forward and hugged Slade.   
“I can’t lose you again because of those idiots,” Joe told him. Oliver couldn’t help the snort that escaped and neither could Slade. The ASIS agents however looked affronted and angry at the comments.   
“I’d watch the glares boys, it didn’t end too well for the last person that looked at Joe like that,” Tommy told them quietly. It was still loud enough for Slade to hear and he turned his head slightly still hugging Joe to give his worst glare towards the agents.   
“Don’t worry, I won’t be going back to work with ASIS. They are going to help us stop this and then I’m never dealing with them again. I promise Joe,” Slade told him.

“Okay, let’s change the topic shall we. We will look into Malcolm and everyone else on the list, we have already started some surveillance,” Agent James stated.   
“I’ve been watching them for over a week. Phones have been tapped as best I can go remotely. I have all the cameras across the city infected with a little Trojan of mine that will immediately send me any footage if they are identified in it. I also have constant scanning across all forms of social media and in Queen Consolidated and Merlyn Global. I get it all and then sort through it using key words,” Felicity told them almost bored as she continued to type on her laptop. Tommy laughed at the shocked faces on the Agents.   
“Nice work Blondie, high five,” Tommy said waiting for Felicity’s hand to connect with his. 

The ASIS agents had left a few hours later with all the information they were missing and a promise to see what contacts they could access in Starling City. The group was now happily gathered around the dining room table digging in to the first ‘spicy’ dish for Oliver, Slade, Shado and Sara since they got back. Raisa had made Nachos with a homemade extremely low spice sauce and chips and organic cheese. Everyone was looking at Oliver once again to gage how it sat in his stomach.   
“Someone else could volunteer you know,” Oliver pointed out.   
“Just get it over and done with, we all know they won’t,” Lance pointed out. 

Oliver nodded and picked up a chip that had some sauce and melted cheese on it. He hesitantly took a bite and when the nausea didn’t hit him he ate the rest. He cautiously ate another and then gave a nod to the group. Slade took one and ate it with a groan causing Joe to laugh.   
“Nachos are dad’s favourite food,” Joe explained. They all ate and were getting close to finishing when Lance spoke up.   
“You know you seem to like wearing hoods,” Lance pointed out noticing the jumper Oliver was wearing was actually a hoodie.   
“The winds on Lian Yu were horrible, when Yao Fei gave me his hood I almost never took it off. Now I think they have just grown on me,” Oliver said trying to lighten the mood.   
“Yeah, you’re a regular Robin Hood. Taking from the rich, seeking justice for the poor. You even have the hood and archery going for you,” Felicity joked.   
“Robin Hood, I like it, even just The Hood would do,” Lance mused.   
“For what?” Tommy asked.   
“When Ollie and Slade go back out there, duh Tommy,” Thea said sticking her tongue out at him.   
“You’re going back out there?” Tommy asked confused wondering how he had missed it.   
“Not at the moment, but it’s too soon to say never. We have no clue how long it will take for ASIS to get something concrete enough to be able to deal with these Undertakers. If something needs immediate attention then the kid and I will deal with it,” Slade explained.   
“Okay, I like The Hood better than Robin Hood,” Tommy inputted.   
“If I get a code name so does Slade,” Oliver told them.   
“I already codenamed dad years ago,” Joe informed them. Slade snorted remembering that conversation.   
“What is it?” Shado asked curiously.   
“Deathstroke,” Joe said proudly. The group paused thoughtfully thinking about the name.   
“A lot better than The Hood, huh kid,” Slade teased proudly.   
“A lot less intimidating though, you're going to have half the city frightened if it ever gets out,” Oliver pointed out.   
“And I would care because,” Slade queried. Oliver just rolled his eyes in response.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty- Seven: 

“So what’s the plan while ASIS finds their contacts?” Felicity queried the next day at Queen Consolidated.   
“We are getting another business lesson foremost, but in our free time we should finish sorting out the maps while you can have another crack at those encrypted messages,” Oliver said.   
“Sounds like a plan, Walter will be up in a couple of minutes he just tagged into the private elevator from the garage,” Felicity said looking at a small alert at the side of the computer screen.   
“Does anything happen that you’re not aware of?” Tommy asked curious.   
“Heaps of stuff, in the past. Now since meeting you guys I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Felicity explained. Oliver frowned at the response.   
“I’m sorry for bringing you into this,” Oliver said sincerely.   
“You are sorry for me saving yours, Slade’s, Shado’s and Sara’s lives. Sorry for reuniting Joe with his father, Thea with her brother, and Lance with his daughter?” Felicity wondered aloud.   
“No not for that, but for bringing you into all this, something that no one knows the full picture about. This could be a lot more serious than anyone can imagine and I didn’t even think twice when Thea suggested we ask you for technical help. So I wanted to apologise for that,” Oliver told her meaning every word. He hadn’t even thought about how he had been taking for granted everyone just hopping aboard with stopping these crazy ‘Undertakers’. 

“Kid?” Slade questioned wondering about Oliver’s mood spirally downward suddenly.   
“My mind is still thinking we are on Lian Yu. Where there are two clear sides, the enemies and ours. And that everyone on our side is just that, on our side, no questions asked, no commands refused. I never asked Felicity, Tommy, Lance, Walter, hell even Barry. I just assumed if they were with us then they were with us, until the end, the whole three-musketeer thing. I think we all have, even you with the ASIS agents. Hell we even treat Joe and Thea as comrades more than we do children. I had to grow up on Lian Yu, it was either that or die. But here, we are meant to be safe and we still have them pushing through with archery, hand to hand, even weapons training. Maybe we are more messed up than we thought,” Oliver ended quietly. Walter had come in during the beginning of Oliver’s explanation and saw Slade’s expression turn darker.   
“Now you both listen to me. It has been only a few months since you have been back. Months. Some soldiers take years to recover from only a few months being on a tour. Slade was there for almost two years, you almost a year. You had to make decisions that no one could ever think of having to make. Soldiers are trained, you weren’t. You overcame all odds and survived. Had I been in America at the time, Yao Fei would not have died. No one expects you to have not changed after what happened at Lian Yu. And you haven’t forced anyone here, we are all happy to help. We want to help, it sickens me what has been happening and I want to be a part of the solution. If we ever feel uncomfortable with what’s happening we will tell you, I promise,” Walter told them. Oliver and Slade both looked uncomfortable as they tried to process what Walter told them. They knew they were broken, but it was clear that Walter didn’t think so. Felicity put her hand into the middle of the group.   
“All for one, and one for all,” Felicity said cheerfully. Slade and Oliver snorted and shook their heads at the bubbly women sitting across from them. 

That evening saw them in the South Wing with maps poured everywhere as they were uploading all the data from their computers onto a master spreadsheet that Felicity had self-updating. It was a bit weird seeing everyone else typing but it made collating the data a lot easier. Felicity had mentioned the technology was a prototype she had came up with in college and had used it amongst her friends to pool notes and coding tips.   
“Okay last one for me,” Tommy announced putting extra emphasis into hitting the enter button. Within minutes everyone else had finished and Felicity began running pattern finding programs through the data on the master sheet. She frowned as her computer beeped. 

“You guys should probably see this,” Felicity told them. Everyone crowded around Felicity’s laptop with Oliver, Tommy and Lance at the front. Felicity pressed a few buttons and the dots changed into three colours.   
“Okay the green dots are the first three months of recorded ‘Undertaker’ efforts beginning a week after your mother’s funeral Tommy. But watch when I animate the dots to appear chronologically,” Felicity said. Slowly one by one the dots appeared and Tommy was the first to figure out what Felicity was getting out.   
“The whole thing, it forms a circle around where mum was killed eventually including the whole of the Glades. It doesn’t go any further though, just the Glades,” Tommy said.   
“Well if we weren’t certain Malcolm was behind the whole thing before, we are now,” Lance said in disbelief at the hundreds of little dots filling almost every space available on the map.   
“But what’s the plan now?” Joe asked frowning at the map.   
“What do you mean?” Shado asked from where she was standing with Thea at the back of the group.   
“The Glades is full and he hasn’t gone past it like Tommy said. So is that the whole plan done or just the first part?” Joe clarified. The rest of the group stayed silent as they absorbed what Joe said.   
“It’s just the beginning,” Lance voiced horrified saying aloud what everyone was thinking. 

The next morning while Slade briefed the ASIS agents about what they had found from the maps Felicity was once again tackling Robert’s computer. She frowned as the progress bar slowly moved forward another percent and impatiently took another sip of her coffee.   
“What are you doing?” Thea asked coming into the room. Felicity smiled at the girl, they had become fast friends since the morning they had met and Thea had cried all over her brand new blouse begging her to find her not so dead brother.   
“Waiting for this to decrypt, you?” Felicity asked.   
“I got bored listening to all the soldier talk. I mean, watching Oliver trying to keep up and look like he understood everything Slade was talking about is only amusing for so long,” Thea said with a grin.   
“He gets to a point where he just nods with this serious look,” Felicity said with a grin.   
“And the moments where he nods too fast and his fringe drops down and covers his face,” Thea added with a giggle that Felicity shared. The bing from the computer startled them both. Felicity immediately began searching the computer and then frowned.   
“What’s up?” Thea asked noticing the look on Felicity’s face.   
“All that encryption and there is only one video file on the whole computer. That’s it, and it’s titled; Oliver and Thea from Dad,” Felicity read out. Thea froze at the mention of the title.   
“Ollie,” Thea squealed loudly. Within a second loud footsteps were heard and Oliver appeared and came sprinting down the short hallway.   
“Thea?” Oliver questioned looking around for a threat. Slade and the rest of the group including the ASIS agents were right behind him.   
“Dad left us a message,” Thea choked out. Oliver looked stunned and looked to Felicity who nodded her head in confirmation. Oliver grabbed Thea’s hand tightly and nodded to Felicity wanted to hear his father’s voice again, anything but his final last words that played on repeat in his head. Felicity quickly made the video full screen.   
“Can someone turn off the lights,” Felicity asked. The light switch was flicked and the only light was coming from the computer. Felicity quickly pressed a few buttons and then moved to the side so she wasn’t blocking the screen.   
“Thea, Oliver if you are watching this then I’m dead. Malcolm and Moira must have found out that I’m not willing to be a part of the Undertaking anymore. I love you both and I hope you will never have to see this video but if I am dead and you are watching this then I need your help. You cannot tell your mother or Malcolm about this, none of the family friends in fact. When Rebecca died, Malcolm went away. No one knows where but when he came back he was changed. At first we thought for the better but then he assembled the city's elite and informed us of his plan. He spun it differently back then, such the clever and charming businessman he was. We were to join his undertaking to save the Glades. We agreed and began using our influence and power to control what was happening in the Glades. We lowered the crime rate for a few short months but then it went completely out of control. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was Malcolm’s doing. He then assembled us again, the plan had changed. If the Glades couldn’t be saved then it had to be cleansed. He spun a brilliant story until we all agreed mass murder was the best option for the Glades. Malcolm assured us if we were needed to help he would call upon us but he would oversee everything. I confess that I put it out of my mind, went back to everyday life with until he called upon me. He needed Queen Consolidated to sponsor a small company as they were building the machine that he would use to cleanse the Glades. I hesitated by Moira got me to agree to it. I continued to have doubts so I began to look into the machine. It creates earthquakes and I went to experts to ask them the damage a machine like this could cause. They told me it would easily level a whole city and no one would realise that it wasn’t just a natural occurrence. A day after this meeting Moira booked my yacht and said I needed a holiday. I refused and she insisted and it has made me worry enough to record this. If something went wrong while I was on the cruise it was no mistake, please right my wrongs. Please do not fail the city like I have done. I love you both and my only worry is by asking you to do this you will be in danger,” Robert finished. Thea was crying and Oliver looked like he wanted to commit murder.   
“He’s going to level the Glades,” Walter breathed out, his hands shaking from the shock.   
“Well fuck,” Agent Clay said rubbing his hand through his hair.   
“Kid,” Slade questioned wanting to help his best friend somehow.   
“Mum suggested I take some time off from my studies and then casually mentioned that dad was going on a cruise. She fucking suggested it Slade. She knew we would die!” Oliver said his voice rising in volume until he was shouting by the end. That was all Tommy could handle as he pushed past Shado and Sara to vomit in the corner of the room.   
“I promise you Oliver, no one will die. We will stop every single one of these Undertakers and make them regret being born,” Agent James said. Oliver met the agent’s eyes and nodded, still clutching his distraught sister not knowing how to help her as he didn’t even know how to help himself at the moment.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

“I’m sorry about this considering everything that happened yesterday but I could really use your help,” Lance said walking in exhausted and almost collapsing into a spare seat in the living room.   
“What’s wrong dad?”   
‘Cyrus Vanch has been released on a technicality,” Lance explained.   
“Oh god,” Sara said horrified.   
“Who is this man?” Shado asked to the relief of everyone else wondering who he was.   
“He is a career criminal. We had him down for fifty-two different homicides, he was never getting out. He hired a new lawyer last week and today he is walking out. I spent the whole day going through every single bit of evidence. They have a whole storage room dedicated to the guy. But one piece of paper wasn’t dated and he walks free,” Lance raged.   
“I know this may be a stupid question to ask to a cop but hypothetically do you want him to survive our visit?” Slade asked. Lance looked over shocked but Oliver shrugged.   
“We killed for a pair of boots before, this guy really deserves it and it’s clear the justice system can’t do anything,” Oliver said indifferently.   
“What did I say about casually talking about murder,” Felicity muttered.   
“Well what’s your idea then?” Shado asked agreeing with Slade’s murder option.   
“His DNA is on the system, I find an old case I could theoretically connect him too and then put him in security footage and fake make a concrete case. You go into work tomorrow and attempt to go through everything again and run a search on his face. Bam it comes up and he will be back in custody that afternoon,” Felicity said trying to mimic Oliver’s indifferent tone.   
“I would love that option Felicity, I really would. But the lawyer twisted shit and I’m pretty sure there were bribes involved because we can’t use any past cases as evidence against him,” Lance said his hands in his head.   
“What are their names?” Oliver asked pulling out his phone that had the list stored on it under porn thanks to Tommy’s suggestion. Lance mumbled out their names and Oliver quickly flicked through it.   
‘Both of them are on the list, so is this Vanch guy,” Oliver announced.   
“So now can I kill them or just Vanch?” Slade asked. Oliver rolled his eyes at his friend.   
“Honestly you get like a kid in a candy store when it comes to killing,” Shado remarked fondly.   
“I was trained to ensure the bad guys don’t get to see another sunrise, and now I am surrounded by bad guys and the most I have done is act like a Texan mobster,” Slade grumbled.   
“If he tries anything I’ll look the other way,” Oliver promised causing Slade to grin happily.   
“Thanks kid,” Slade said cheerfully cause Lance to groan again. 

“Okay, I want it noted that going to the bad guys house is not smart at all,” Felicity said.   
“Noted for the fifth time,” Tommy said dryly.   
“Five armed guards at the front, four at the back and three people inside probably armed as well,” Felicity pointed out again as they got closer.   
“Shado takes the front, and the kid and I will take the back, piece of cake,” Slade snorted.   
“Self confidence is a good thing unless you’re Slade apparently,” Lance muttered.   
“Little spoiler Detective, Shado and Slade have both been holding back. Even that time they said they weren’t they were. We will be fine, we’ve faced worse before and came out unscathed,” Oliver reassured them.   
“There was that one time,” Shado began teasingly.   
“Shado, let’s not bring up that time,” Sara said.   
“Agreed,” Slade and Oliver said together, slowly approaching the small mansion that Cyrus Vanch had already decided to call home.   
“Yeah, we won’t want to damage their over inflated egos Sara, they might not survive,” Shado whispered as she closed in on her targets. 

“Now,” Slade breathed out all three of them launching simultaneously at the armed guards. While not one of them would admit to showing off they had all the guards down and unconscious in record time.   
“Meet you inside Shado?” Slade asked.   
“I’m already inside Slade, please do try and keep up,” Shado whispered. Oliver snorted in response and heard similar sounds coming over through the comms. Oliver and Slade made their way through the house towards where Felicity had told them the heat signatures were coming from.   
“Guys one of the heat signatures is fading. Whoever it is, is either dead or will be very soon,” Felicity whispered urgently.   
“Finish him,” Lance ordered.   
“What? This is a fresh crime, you can re-convict him,” Oliver reminded him.   
“And even if I do? With this hotshot lawyer of his and the corrupt judge he would be given a slap on the wrist, a fine at most. Just try and save the person he tried to kill if you can,” Lance said resigned to what he just asked them to do.   
“Shado?” Slade whispered.   
“I’m at the door on the other side of the room, whenever you are ready Slade,” Shado confirmed. 

“Now,” Slade whispered. Slade and Shado broke through the doors, Shado with a quick kick and Slade by rushing it. Shouts of alarm were heard and Oliver quickly entered and spotted the victim immediately. He quickly checked that Slade and Shado had Cyrus and the lawyer covered and rushed over to the lady bleeding out on the floor. Oliver quickly looked her over and then noticed the stab wound. He sighed with relief when he saw it wasn’t near anything vital and quickly pulled the small med kit he kept with him. Hoping the hood and his hair and the fact she had almost passed out was keeping his identity safe he quickly put some gauze over the wound and wrapped it with a bandage tightly. Shoving the med kit back into his pocket and zipping it up he then began putting pressure on the wound.   
“Deathstroke and Fei are almost done here, can you call an ambulance,” Oliver whispered over the comms using Slade’s code name and making one up for Shado as he knew the woman was still conscious and partly aware of what was happening. Slade's Deathstroke outfit and Shado's costume better hid their identity than his anyway. 

“You really are a piece of work aren’t you?” Slade growled as he continued to spar the man.   
“Jealous?” Vanch asked. He quickly spun around and in a complicated maneuver sliced into Slade’s arm causing Slade to hiss at the sudden pain. Shado was currently easing the lawyer into unconsciousness and was watching Slade concerned.   
“Not jealous, because you are nothing compared to me,” Slade snarled as he pulled his blade out from the holder behind his back and in one clean movement parted Vanch’s head from his shoulders sending it flying. With a sickening thud it hit the massive fishtank built into the wall and slowly slid down leaving a trail of blood behind. Oliver was never happier when he heard the sirens and quickly motioned to the two to leave out the back entrance. They had only just made it to the van they had left parked in a security camera dead spot when Felicity’s voice chimed in.   
“Do I want to know what they noise was?” Felicity asked quietly.   
“Not if Tommy wants to keep his dinner,” Slade replied cheerfully.   
“I seriously worry about you sometimes,” Oliver decided to point out.   
“Don’t judge until you behead someone. It takes precision and being able to put a lot of force into the beginning until you sever the spine and then lowering it so you glide until you finish,” Slade explained.   
“Oh yeah, it’s a real art form,” Shado said dryly as Oliver began driving them home. She winced as she heard someone vomit through the comms.   
“Tommy?” Shado questioned.   
“Felicity and Lance,” Tommy answered weakly.   
“How’s the arm?” Oliver asked.   
“Just a scratch,” Slade dismissed.   
“Are you sure, you looked like you were in a lot more pain than just a scratch,” Oliver insisted.   
“Stop being a mother hen,” Slade ordered and Shado chuckled. 

Over the next month while ASIS sent spies out and built their case until it was completely rock solid, Oliver, Slade and occasionally Shado continued to take out crooks that were on the list that Lance couldn’t deal with. Lance had been hesitant for a while but then Slade sat him down and explained that Vanch had gotten a quick clean death, a total of a few seconds of pain and then nothing, whereas the victim in the room was in pain for over ten minutes not to mention all his other victims. Lance had felt better after that and was glad that the lawyer and all the armed guards had been charged and imprisoned and they had found evidence proving the judge had been bribed and had prosecuted him too. It was after completing a mission that Oliver and Slade encountered another vigilante wearing a red hoodie protecting a woman.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty- Nine: 

“Kid’s got potential,” Slade noted from the balcony they were observing from.   
“He’s way out of his league doing this alone without any training, though,” Oliver replied worried for the kid’s safety. They both tensed as the other guy pulled a knife out and before either of them had hit the ground the kid had been stabbed. Slade didn’t even hesitate going after the stabber, as he knew Oliver was better at the people side of things. He knew his medical training but he had never been a good nurse, as Oliver knew. He had taught the kid all the basics and he was slowly moving into the more advanced stuff and Oliver absorbed it all like a sponge. Being an archer Oliver had precise aim and steady hands, which were essential for dealing with injuries out in the field. He grinned as the idiot turned down an alley he knew was a dead end. He would leave him alive and get Felicity to anonymously call the police later. 

Oliver however had been having a hard time patching the kid up. The knife had nicked a major vein luckily because if it had been an artery the kid would have already bled out. He knew the kid had to go to the hospital because he didn’t have a small enough sterilised needle on his to fix it for him.   
“Oliver Queen?” the kid whispered surprised. Oliver inwardly cursed, he had bent to close to the kids shoulder where the knife had stabbed him to make sure it was just a vein and not an artery and it had been close enough for him to be identified.   
“What’s your name?” Oliver asked resigned to the fact the kid was coming home with them and Shado could patch him up. He couldn’t take the kid to the hospital if he was going to tell everyone he was the Hood, which would lead to Slade being identified eventually as Deathstroke and Shado as Fei. The Police knew of them, sort of. The majority of those they visited didn’t report it but a small few did. Felicity took care of all security cameras and other footage so all the Police Force had was some very dodgy sketches and horrible descriptions. Deathstroke was apparently Texan, Shado was African American and Oliver was between 30-40 years old. He had suspicions that Lance had helped to keep the descriptions horrible but the man wouldn’t admit it when Oliver asked.   
‘Roy, Roy Harper,” the kid whispered and then groaned, due to the pain from Oliver applying more pressure. Slade came back into the alley and raised an eyebrow at Oliver.   
“Nice to meet you Roy, well let’s get you back to my place so we can patch you up,” Oliver said. Keeping pressure on the wound he gently helped Roy up and Slade helped by going to the other side of Roy to let him lean on Slade.   
“Why is he coming back with us?” Slade asked.   
“He saw who I am,” Oliver replied quietly waiting to be chastised. Slade however just closed his eyes momentarily and then the three of them made their way slowly back to where the van was parked. 

“Shado can you get the surgery kit?” Oliver asked loudly as they made their way into the mansion.   
“Who is it this time?” Shado called out as she made her way towards the entry with the kit in her hands.   
“Roy Harper,” Oliver called. Suddenly he could footsteps from the living room as Tommy and Walter made their way towards them. Sara was currently upstairs saying good night to Joe and Thea.   
“Okay Roy, well first we need to get you out of the jacket,” Shado said. Slade smiled at how well Shado adapted to any situation, which then quickly disappeared when he noticed the side glance that Shado was giving to him. It didn’t matter though it was the kid’s fault, not his. Roy with Oliver’s help slowly took off the jacket causing Oliver to frown when he saw how small Roy was underneath the thick hoodie.   
“How old are you?” Oliver asked suspiciously.   
“21,” Roy prompted.   
“And I’m the Queen of England, try again truthfully,” Shado said inspecting the wound.   
“17,” Roy sighed. He didn’t mention that he had only very recently turned 17 from the disapproving look all these adults were giving him, or that he had been working the streets in some shape or form for a lot longer.   
“What are you doing facing down an armed attacker when your 17 and have clearly had no training?” Slade questioned in the tone he reserved for when either Oliver or Joe did something stupid. Oliver grinned and sat down next to Roy.   
“Oh, you’re getting the dad voice. It’s about time someone else apart from me got it,” Oliver said grinning.   
“You deserve it every time kid and don’t encourage Roy to follow in your footsteps,” Slade chastised. Roy looked curiously between the pair feeling more comfortable as they bickered like old married people he knew. Oliver put his foot near Roy’s.   
“He would have to take pretty big steps to follow in my footsteps,” Oliver pointed out cheekily. Roy could help but chuckle.   
“Oh god, there’s two of them. If I didn’t already have some grey hairs they would have just immediately appeared,” Slade said exaggerating his sigh.   
“You have grey hairs?” Oliver and Roy asked at the same time. Shado giggled as Slade placed extra emphasis at pretending to collapse into a seat.   
“Okay Roy, it is up to you whether I use some local anesthetic on the area. I’ve already dealt with the vein, it was only a very tiny nick and some very special heating swabs closed it. You’ll only need three, maybe four stitches to get the whole wound closed,” Shado explained, curious to see what the boy’s pain threshold was like. He hadn’t even moved or twitched when Shado had applied the heated swab to his vein or when she had used hospital grade cleaning alcohol to get rid of the dirt around the wound.   
“I’ll be fine, just please be quick,” Roy decided bracing himself. Slade got off of the chair and walked behind Roy quickly grabbing hold of the boy and preventing all movement. Roy looked confused.   
“Just be glad he’s not sitting on your lap,” Oliver muttered though everyone heard and burst into laughter.   
“Huh?” Roy asked confused and he was intrigued so much he barely felt the first pierce of the needle. Slade told him exactly what happened while they were on the boat coming to Starling and Roy was laughing his head off by the time Shado had finished and cut the thread.   
“All done,” Shado announced.   
“Come with me and I’ll find you a room,” Oliver said.   
“Get him a change of clothes too, the top and hoodie are ruined,” Shado said taking note of the clothes. Slade noticed the devastated look on Roy’s face at the mention of the hoodie. He gently picked it up and looked Roy in the eyes.   
“I’ll see to it that it gets fixed up,” he told the boy gently.   
“Thank you,” Roy said sincerely and began following Oliver up the stairs wondering how a decision to stop a man raping a woman had led him to staying the night at the Queen Mansion. 

“Morning,” Roy said hesitantly as he came into the dining room. The middle of the table had three different kinds of cereal boxes, a plate full of pancakes and a plate full of toast with jars of jam, honey and a weird yellow and black jar called vegemite.   
“Morning,” Oliver mumbled through a mouth full of toast. Shado just shook her head sadly.   
“I swear you had more manners on the Island,” Shado lamented.   
“The kid has never had manners Shado,” Slade pointed out as he finished putting a heavy amount of vegemite on his toast.   
“Come sit down and help yourself to some breakfast,” Walter offered, Roy sat down and looked around, there were new people he hadn’t seen last night.   
“I’m Thea and this is Joe,” Thea said noticing Roy looking at them.   
“It’s my birthday today,” Joe announced proudly.   
“Happy birthday,” Roy told the boy slowly reaching out to grab two pieces of toast.   
“Will you be staying for my party?” Joe asked as he reached over the take the jar of vegemite from Slade.   
“Party?” Roy repeated dumbly.   
“We’re all going to start setting up after breakfast, Mr. Lance and Laurel are coming!” Joe said excitedly.   
“He really needs more friends his age,” Shado pointed out.   
“He starts school soon, he’ll make friends there,” Sara pointed out. Slade grumbled but went back to eating his toast.   
“I’m fine dad, I have Thea and all of you to play with,” Joe stated finally finishing applying a layer of vegemite as thick as his dads. They both smiled and tapped their pieces of toast together before taking a bite.   
“That was so cheesy,” Oliver pointed out with a grin.   
“I got it,” Tommy declared with a smile. Slade held out his hand for the small camera and Tommy handed it over reluctantly. Slade looked at the photo and then his face broke out into one of his rare full-face smiles. He lowered the camera to show Joe and he grinned too.   
“I like that photo,” Joe told him.   
“How about I get it framed for you as a late birthday present?” Tommy offered. Joe nodded enthusiastically.   
“So are you going to stay for my party? Oliver said he was going to bake me a cake,” Joe asked. Oliver spluttered in the middle of having a mouthful of water.   
“I what?” Oliver asked.   
“Well you made one for Laurel and she didn’t even eat it so I thought you were going to make me one for my birthday,” Joe said looking devastated and producing a full lip pout in Oliver’s direction. Oliver looked shocked and then guilty. He got up and made his way to the kitchen muttering about the Wilson puppy dog face curse. Slade snorted when he heard that.   
“Chocolate?” Oliver called out.   
“Yes please,” Joe called back, he swiveled around to check Oliver was in the kitchen and then high fived his dad.   
“I can’t believe that worked,” Joe whispered loudly.   
“Did you just guilt him into baking your cake?” Tommy asked incredulously.   
“Yep,” Slade and Joe said together. Tommy just shook his head with a massive grin on his face, impressed with the two of them. Roy decided to grab the jar of vegemite across from him and put the same amount of spread that Joe and Slade had put on. He didn’t notice Slade watching him from the corner of his eye as he took a bite of his toast and promptly spit it out.   
“I could have told you that stuff is nasty,” Thea said.   
“Why didn’t you?” Roy asked as he gulped down water to get rid of the taste.   
“You ate it at Aussie level, you need to dull it down to American,” Joe explained grabbing a new bit of toast and putting the thinnest layer of vegemite on it and handing it over. Roy looked at it in distrust.   
“Trust me, it tastes really good if you use the right amount,” Joe explained. Roy shrugged and took a bit of it and paused. The taste was incredible and he couldn’t think of anything similar and it fit really nicely with the taste of toast.   
“It’s good,” Roy remarked.   
“When you get used to it you slowly put more on,” Slade explained as he finished his last bit of toast.   
“I’ll remember that, and if you really want me here for your birthday I can stay. I didn’t get you anything though,” Roy said, not wanting to mention the fact he didn’t even know it was Joe’s birthday until this morning.   
“That’s fine, I already got my dad back this year, and made lots of new friends, that’s more than enough,” Joe replied.   
“Well I guess I’ll be taking back these then,” Tommy said referring to the pile of presents sitting on a small coffee table near the wall. Joe immediately ran over to them happily opening each one and thanking the person who got it for him. 

Joe’s birthday was a success. Oliver’s chocolate cake had been a hit and they had all sung ‘Happy Birthday’ at the top of their lungs for Joe. They all participated in party games and Shado had won all but pin the tail on the donkey, which Joe had won. Tommy had continued to take photos throughout the day and was going to the all hours mall after Joe had fallen asleep to get them printed so he would have them tomorrow. Felicity had shown up after work and had gotten him his first notebook laptop. Laurel and Lance had shown up not to long after Felicity with a cricket set, which Joe had to immediately try out and so teams were formed. They had been discussing what to do as they had odd numbers when Barry showed up apologizing for being late. Barry had got Joe a soft throw blanket with a space theme containing the planets and stars. They continued to have fun until Joe began falling asleep where he stood and Slade lifted him up and began carrying him to bed wrapped in the blanket.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty: 

“So that was Malcolm,” Tommy said after he hung up the phone. He had stopped calling the man his father for weeks now.   
“What did he want?” Slade asked where he was helping Lance correct his pose as they were all doing some more self-defense practice. Even the ASIS Agents had shown up, though Oliver was convinced it was to see how good Slade was after all the time on Lian Yu.   
“He and Moira want to come over tonight to have dinner, mend bridges, start over,” Tommy explained.   
“Did you agree?” Oliver asked where he was gently sparring with Thea and Joe. Roy had gone home after Shado had agreed his wound was almost healed and with a promise to contact them if he ever wanted to play the vigilante again so someone could accompany him.   
“Said I would talk to everyone first then call him back with the answer,” Tommy explained as he started stretching so he could continue sparring.   
“I think it’s a good idea,” Slade said. Oliver stopped and turned to look at Slade and suddenly stumbled forward as two feet hit his lower back. Giving a quick look to Thea and Joe, who looked sheepish, he turned back to Slade wondering what he had in mind.   
“I want to better assess him, I’ve never met him beyond that fight. Felicity and the Agents can be upstairs observing and we can see what’s really making this guy tick,” Slade explained. Shado shrugged, confident that even if everything went wrong that between Slade, Oliver, the ASIS Agents and herself that Malcolm would pose no threat. League of Assassins training or not.   
“Okay hands up if you’re totally against it,” Tommy asked. Thea put her hand up.   
“Out voted Speedy, don’t worry if they start being mean I’ll just let Slade deal with them,” Oliver told her to reassure her.   
“You need to stop making it sound like I’m your pet dog kid,” Slade growled slightly. Oliver merely raised an eyebrow at the growl and turned back to Thea and Joe quickly before Slade decided they needed to spar together. Tommy began scrolling through his phone to find Malcolm's number to ring him back and confirm that dinner was on. 

“Walter, I’ve missed you,” Moira said going up to her husband and embracing him. Walter accepted it and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.   
“Well, you’ve known where I was,” Walter pointed out. A bit further down the line, Slade and Joe were both fidgeting in the formal wear Tommy and Oliver had forced them into. Tommy was actually trying very hard not to laugh at the pair of them.   
“Tommy, why don’t you introduce me to everyone?” Malcolm basically ordered as he walked in. Looking around at the group of them standing.   
“Dad, this is Walter, Oliver, Thea, Sara, Mr. Lance,” Tommy begun.   
“I know who they are Tommy, I meant the new additions,” Malcolm said looking sour at the last word.   
“Well, we’ve all been together for months, in fact, the only new addition has been Roy, but he’s not here tonight, anyway following on, this is Shado, Slade, and Joe,” Tommy finished. Malcolm stepped forward and after quickly shaking hands with Walter, Oliver and Mr. Lance he stopped in front of Slade. It had been months since they had faced each other in the sparring contest. Malcolm offered his hand to Slade who took it, exerting everything he had into the handshake. Malcolm returned the favour and soon both were flexing all the muscles in their arms in hopes to add more pain to the handshake. Oliver sighed, knowing this had been coming, in fact, he was just grateful that Slade hadn’t already asked for a rematch. Lance, however, was watching the handshake with the same vigour as when he watched sports and if it had of been a match he would have bet on Slade. A small ripping sound shocked most out of staring at Slade and Malcolm, as Slade’s jacket had ripped under the tightness. 

“Shall we go sit down?” Walter asked and was slightly relieved when everyone began walking towards the dining room. Slade was guided by Oliver and Shado, who took one side each as the man had narrowed his eyes into slits as Malcolm casually strutted with Moira towards the dining room.   
“What’s for dinner?” Moira asked as Malcolm tucked her chair in for her, causing Walter to raise an eyebrow. Yes, he knew that they weren’t happy at the moment but for her to let another man do something he should have done as her husband in front of him made him think that things were worse than he thought.   
“I’ve sent one of the drivers to get us some pizza,” Tommy said with his best smile.   
“From a restaurant?” Moira asked confused.   
“No, there’s a nice little pizza joint near Mr. Lance’s house that does the best pizza in Starling,” Tommy explained waiting for the blow-up.   
“Is something wrong with Raisa?” Moira asked trying to figure out why she was being forced to eat cheap take away.   
“Nothing at all, we just didn’t see the need to waste her time cooking a three-course meal when it was just the two of you coming,” Oliver inputted casually. Slade and Shado shared a look; both now understanding what Oliver and Tommy had meant by they could fight battles with only words and smiles.   
“We knew you wouldn’t mind, you told Tommy that you wanted to mend bridges not discuss business, so we thought a casual meal was all that was needed for such a casual meeting,” Thea inputted. “That’s is the point of tonight, right Mum?” Thea asked looking innocent. Sara and Lance, who had witnessed the silver tongues of Oliver and Tommy before noted with surprise of how good Thea had become in the art of talking with double meanings. Luckily for Moira, the doorbell rung signaling the pizza had arrived. 

Lance and Walter had gone to grab the pizzas and had quickly distributed them around the table.   
“Oliver where is your plate?” Moira asked shocked as her son picked up a piece and began eating it.   
“Kind of got used to eating without one, Lian Yu didn’t exactly have cutlery growing on trees,” Oliver pointed out.   
“You are not there anymore, you are back here with your family,” Malcolm pointed out.   
“I don’t see them complaining,” Oliver replied with a raised eyebrow taking another bite of the pizza. Silence engulfed the table as they all took in the implications of Oliver’s words. Moira looked like a deer staring into the headlights of an incoming car. Malcolm had narrowed his eyes towards Oliver, who replied in turn by tilting his pizza towards them in a mock toast before taking another bite. Thea picked up a piece and proceeded to eat it too, steeling herself for whatever was coming.   
“Do I truly mean that little to you?” Moira asked.   
“I think the question should be, do I truly mean that little to you, Mum? I’ve found goodbyes are something you have become quite proficient at, makes a person wonder sometimes if they’ve been rehearsed,” Oliver goaded with a straight face betraying nothing. Slade had never been prouder, well it was one of his proudest moments anyway when watching Oliver hand his mother and Malcolm their arses with just words. The look of shock on both Moira and Malcolm’s face as they realised the implications of what Oliver had said was going to become a fond memory of his.   
“What?” Moira spluttered.   
“I think you heard Oliver quite clearly,” Tommy said.   
“Do not get involved in things you don’t understand Tommy,” Malcolm threatened.   
“Whatever makes you think I don’t understand?” Tommy said perfectly innocent, the only thing betraying him was his left eyebrow which rose in challenge with his words. 

“You don’t know, none of you know,” Moira said desperately trying to convince herself.   
“Are you sure about that Mother, true families don’t keep secrets from one another,” Oliver asked leaning forward to casually take another piece of pizza. He noticed the wide stares Lance, Sara, Shado, Slade and Joe were giving as they followed the conversation back and forth.   
“You have no idea what’s really going on,” Malcolm taunted, his face turning into an ugly sneer.   
“I think this conversation has digressed, wasn’t the undertaking of this dinner to mend bridges not destroy them?” Oliver said, putting a slight emphasis on the words undertaking and destroy. Both Malcolm and Moira paled and froze.   
“How?” Moira whispered.   
“How could you put Sara and I on that yacht knowing we would never come home?” Oliver snarled back, finally accepting the fact his mother had kissed him goodbye knowing he would die on that cruise.   
“How could you kill dad?” Thea snapped.   
“How could you even think the Undertaking is a good idea?” Tommy asked.   
“And leaving to become an Assassin is a good enough reason to abandon me for years?” Tommy’s voice rose to almost shouting though he managed to stay seated.   
“How could you tell me that people were out there looking for my baby girl when you already knew they were probably dead?” Lance accused not being able to stay quiet any longer.   
“This is all your fault,” Moira accused looking at Slade.   
“Oh, it’s my fault I kept your son alive long enough for us to be rescued? I’ll gladly take the blame if that’s the case,” Slade drawled amused at Moira trying to shift the blame onto him.   
“That’s right Tommy I am an Assassin, one of the best. So what makes you think it’s a good idea to go up against me?” Malcolm asked cockily standing.   
“Because there’s only one of you, you have no clue how much support we have. Your little undertaking is never going to happen,” Tommy answered back standing like Malcolm had.   
“You have no clue, your mother would have wanted us to fix the Glades,” Malcolm defended.   
“If you knew Mum at all, you would know that she would never agree with your plan,” Tommy spat, furious his mother had been used to justify an act of terrorism.   
“She’s dead, one of them killed her,” Malcolm roared.   
“Yeah, and you're going to kill thousands of innocent people to get back at one person, he could be dead by now for all you know. He might have moved, you might be doing this for nothing,” Tommy shouted back emotionally. Malcolm merely grabbed Moira’s hand and they left the Mansion. Tommy sat down exhausted physically and mentally. He barely even heard the Agents and Felicity running down the stairs.   
“It’s time we end this, for good,” Agent James said. No one disagreed with him.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One: 

“You’ll never guess what we just got,” Agent James said as the ASIS Agents quickly entered the dining room.   
“So why don’t you just tell us then?” Walter answered diplomatically.   
“We had enough of the word games last night,” Tommy reminded them.   
“That was impressive by the way,” Agent James said.   
“Yeah, I’ve seen you use that silver tongue to talk yourself out of things before, but that was truly something. I could almost feel the impact of each word like it was an actual punch. I was impressed with all of you,” Lance told them. Thea gave him a wide smile, happy from Lance’s praise. While Tommy and Oliver weren’t as obvious, the praise had touched them deeply too.   
“We have a contact in the League, we finally had a face to face yesterday, once we told him Merlyn’s plan he immediately got on the phone to Ra’s Ah Ghul. The Demon has given us the go ahead to take whatever action we want, and if we face any difficulties we will have the assistance of the League. Turns out Merlyn had quite a few restrictions in coming back to Starling, including not taking any sort of revenge for his wife’s murder. Apparently that’s why he originally joined the League in the first place,” Agent James told them.   
“So what’s the plan of action?” Slade asked.   
“We’re going to storm Merlyn’s home and catch him unawares. We’re going to finish this today,” Agent Clay said with an easy grin, like he stormed the house of potential terrorists on a regular basis.   
“We need to start planning then,” Slade decided looking around at the people he had begun to consider family, who were all looking to him for guidance. 

It was decided that Felicity would stay and man the computers with Tommy and Walter. Lance dressed in an ASIS uniform, Oliver, Slade, and Shado were going with the ASIS Agents to confront Malcolm and stop his plans before they could progress any further. Sara who didn’t feel she would be much help had offered to stay with Joe and Thea. 

“You’ll come back, right?” Joe asked, scared for his father.   
“Of course, this will be a piece of cake. And then I promise you we will focus on getting you and Thea ready for school. Tommy, the kid and I will finish business school and get normal jobs. Sara will finish the Academy and Shado will become a doctor and we will live very normal, peaceful lives. But first we need to do this and make sure that Malcolm can’t destroy anyone’s life,” Slade told his son, catching him in a hug towards the end. Oliver was in a similar situation with Thea.   
“I’ll be fine Thea, Slade will look out for me,” Oliver reassured.   
“And who will look out for Slade?” Thea questioned, not wanting Slade to be vulnerable.   
“I will,” Shado vowed with a deadly look in her eyes that promised a fate worse than death to those who would stand in her way. Thea nodded her thanks, unable to talk anymore, realizing her brother and people she had begun to consider family was about to leave to fight a dangerous man.   
“Let’s go,” Agent James said and without a word he left, followed by the other Agents and then Slade, Oliver, Shado, and Lance. 

“Okay, I’ve put the front feed on a loop so he won’t see you coming until you know, you’re at the front door. Are you going through the front door?” Felicity asked as her fingers flew over the keyboard as she inputted the beginnings of each program she thought she might need and put them in stasis. At the touch of a single button, they could be activated and milliseconds later be operational.   
“I was thinking the servants entrance for the ASIS Agents, Malcolm doesn’t know about them or would even think they could be involved,” Tommy said, his sweating hands the only indicator of how nervous he was.   
“Where is it? And where does it lead to?” Agent Clay asked curiously. Oliver got out the map and pointed out the route it took. The ASIS Agents looked it over and exchanged nods of agreement. Agent James stopped the car far enough away from Merlyn’s house that they would be able to approach without the vehicle being heard. Giving each other a nod the groups split and Slade lead the way as they slowly approached the front entrance. 

As they crouched around the front door, every one of them tense and ready to finish this once and for all.   
“Why don’t you all come in?” Malcolm’s voice asked loudly carrying to where they thought they were hidden outside. Slade cursed and slowly rose, there was no point in hiding when he knew they were there. His only hope was the ASIS Agents hadn’t been found out yet. Slade opened the door and walked in. He almost chuckled as Malcolm paused as he took them in. Slade was dressed in his Deathstroke uniform, the mask firmly attached to his face. Oliver was covered in green, Yao Fei’s hood hiding his face, Lance in a standard ASIS Agent’s field uniform with Kevlar and Shado with a simple black eye mask complimenting her tight-fitting black clothing and plaited hair. 

Malcolm, however, was similarly dressed up. He had his League uniform on only minus the mask. He slowly pulled out an arrow and nocked it, and action mirrored by Oliver. The archers aimed but stayed their hands. Malcolm let loose first, his arrow heading straight for Slade. Oliver’s let loose a second later colliding with Malcolm’s arrow and sending it flying harmlessly away from Slade. 

“I’m impressed, but did you think I wouldn’t notice your little friends?” Malcolm asked as he pressed a small button on a little device attached to his jacket. The explosion that erupted from the servants corridors knocked them flying giving Malcolm time to disappear like a magician, leaving them sprawled amongst the rubble and the faint sounds of Felicity, Tommy and Walter screaming through the comm systems.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty- Two: 

Shado was the first one to regain consciousness, groaning as she put her hand to her head frowning when she felt wetness. Moving her hand down to look at it, she froze when she noticed the amount of blood. Forgetting her own injury she looked around for Slade, Oliver, and Lance. She found Lance first and not noticing any injuries quickly shook him awake. As he began stirring she crawled over to Slade and Oliver. The two of them were close together but the large bit of what looked to be a wall cabinet was covering Oliver’s torso and legs. Quickly shaking Slade awake though she noticed he was bleeding somewhere near his elbow by the looks of the bloodstain, she then turned to Oliver. 

“Are they alright?” Lance asked stumbling over. Slade sat up and began taking in the situation. He noticed the wound just above his elbow but he wasn’t feeling any pain at the moment. He knew that would change later so he pushed himself upright with the intention of helping Shado and Lance with the wood on Oliver.   
“Are you able to do this?” Shado asked Slade seriously. Slade merely nodded and put himself in a position to lift the right side, while Lance had the end and Shado the left.   
“On three,” Shado said and once she hit three they lifted the wood up and staggered, with Lance moving backwards as they got it off of Oliver. Once they had dropped it, Shado immediately moved to Oliver’s side. She swallowed the vomit that threatened to rise when she saw a broken bone that was threatening to break the skin in his lower right leg. Not seeing any other injuries she began shaking Oliver awake.   
“Hold his leg down, I don’t want him moving it and that bone anymore that it has to be,” Shado ordered. Lance quickly took a firm grip on his upper foot and Slade held down his upper thigh, effectively stopping any movement. Oliver groaned as he came to and quickly stiffened as the pain suddenly assaulted him. Seeing Lance, Shado, and Slade alive and not too badly hurt gave him relief but he didn’t see Malcolm anywhere.   
“Please tell me the dipshit is dead,” Oliver panted.   
“He’s not here and he’s not dead, sorry kid,” Slade told him.   
“What’s broken and how bad?” Oliver asked feeling the familiar pain of a broken bone.   
“Lower leg, it’s almost come right out of your leg so you can’t move at all,” Shado ordered.   
“Same fucking one as last time?” Oliver asked Slade. Slade was shocked for a moment before he remembered the time Billy had broken a bone in Oliver’s leg and then crudely pushed it back in place. Oliver had been forced to walk on it only minutes after. Slade quickly looked and closed his eyes in sadness as he realised it was the same bone, obviously weak after the torture Billy had put it through and knowing what Oliver was going to ask next.   
“Do it, and I’ll borrow your belt this time around please,” Oliver ordered remembering biting his tongue last time.   
“What are you talking about?” Lance asked. Slade looked at Oliver and realised the kid was determined and sighed.   
“Shado get behind him and hold him so he’s slightly elevated. Lance hold both his legs down at his thighs,” Slade ordered moving into position by the broken bone.   
“You’re not,” Shado began shocked as she realised what was about to happen. Slade just pulled off his belt and handed it to Oliver who promptly placed it in his mouth and bit down hard. Lance reluctantly grabbed Oliver’s thighs.   
“It’s been done before. The bone was always weak; it never got the chance to heal properly after the last time. It’s a temporary measure but it’s better than it breaking through the skin,” Slade reasoned though he was now swallowing the bile that threatened to rise as he got ready to push the bone back into place. With a nod from Oliver, he quickly completed the action and closed his eyes feeling the pain with Oliver as he howled loudly even with the belt dulling the sounds. Lance and Shado were both pale and looked sickened as they watched Oliver push through the pain. 

“Get me up, we need to find the ASIS Agents,” Oliver grounded out. Lance and Shado were both frozen as they watched Slade pull Oliver up like a child and then let him lean almost all his weight on Slade.   
“Let’s go,” Slade ordered, hardening himself for the worst. 

The worst was what they found. All the Agents were dead. Shado checked each one of them maneuvering herself through the rubble. No pulses and they looked dead, pale and horror frozen on their faces reflecting their final moments of being caught in Malcolm’s bomb. They all silently, apart from Oliver’s pained sounds, made their way outside only to see Tommy’s car speeding towards them. Tommy screeched to a stop and exited the car a moment later running at full speed towards them. 

“What happened?” Tommy panted as he stopped in front of them.   
“There was a bomb, Malcolm knew we were coming and waited until we were all in the house and let it off. The ASIS Agents are all dead, the blast was more focused there,” Slade explained.   
“We need to find him, finish this now,” Slade growled angrily.   
“In our condition?” Lance asked shocked.   
“I’ll have you know when Slade gets angry enough 14 armed mercenaries don’t even stand a chance. And I don’t need my leg to shoot,” Oliver stated just as angry. Tommy eyes focused on something in the background and then frowned.   
“Felicity just rang the League contact that the ASIS Agent’s used. Walter and Sara are staying with Joe and Thea. Walter has rang in extra security in case Malcolm thinks of going to the Mansion. ASIS gave Felicity Malcolm’s location. He’s in the Glade’s at the moment, the same location where my mother was murdered,” Tommy told them. Not caring how they got the information Oliver and Slade began making their way to Tommy’s car.   
“We need to stop at the van. I need my spare bow and lots of arrows. Lots and lots of arrows, I’m going to turn him into a bloody porcupine when I’m done with him,” Oliver growled.   
“Not until I’ve chopped at least something off of him,” Slade countered. Lance and Tommy watched the two and realised this was the first time they had ever seen the proper killers the two men had become. The hardened fighters that had survived everything Purgatory had thrown at them and come out on top.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

“There he is,” Tommy said quietly as he parked the car near the alleyway where his mother had died. Malcolm had a sword in one hand and a bow in the other, with a quiver full of arrows on his back. Oliver was sharpening the last of his arrows, making sure they were able to pierce any type of body armour Malcolm could be wearing. Slade was quiet, slowly tensing and relaxing his muscles as he did before any fight.   
“Are you sure about this?” Lance asked as he watched Oliver put his hood on and Slade pull down his mask.   
“We’ll be fine; he won’t be. Shado I want you with me to begin with, then you reassess as it goes on. Lance, Tommy, I want you both with Oliver. He might try and finish the job and I need you to protect him as he empties his quiver. Kid, try to not get Shado and me,” Slade said going through the plan. Oliver just nodded and he made eye contact with Slade. Without saying a word, the two brothers conveyed everything they wanted the other to know. Opening the car door for them, Tommy was quickly handed two additional quivers full of arrows and Oliver launched himself out and promptly began shooting arrow after arrow at Malcolm. 

Malcolm began hitting them away with precision using his sword. Oliver without pausing began sending every second arrow on an angle so it ricocheted off of the surrounding buildings and made it’s way to Malcolm. Out of the ten arrows, he sent flying all within a second of each other four pierced his back in various places causing him to howl and Oliver to grin ferally. Lance and Tommy watched in stunned silence at the skill Oliver was displaying. Both of them knew Oliver when he was a carefree playboy that couldn’t do simple algebra let alone the knowledge of angles that it would take to pull off those shots. As Oliver neared the end of his quiver, Slade and Shado tensed. Out of the twenty-four arrows in his quiver, seven in total had managed to hit their target as Malcolm had gotten more creative at dodging after his initial surprise at Oliver’s skill. 

Oliver growled annoyed that more hadn’t hit his target as the last arrow was knocked to the ground. He accepted a quiver from Tommy, dropping the empty one to the ground just as Slade’s sword clashed with Malcolm’s. Shado was using Sara’s bow-staff with deadly accuracy and even coupled with the wounds Oliver had caused, Malcolm was still holding his own. The fight continued for minutes, until Lance, who had his gun out and aimed, saw an opportunity when Malcolm stumbled backwards and shot aiming for a hitting his knee, shattering it on impact. Oliver had seen the opportunity to and sent four arrows in quick succession at different points on his arm. Three of them hit home. 

Malcolm’s call of anguish filled the air and Tommy felt sick to his stomach. But a small bit of his mind pointed out to him that he felt sicker when he heard the explosion and thought he had lost his family. For the first time, he truly realised that he no longer considered Malcolm family. That he hadn’t really since he left after his mother’s death. The man in front of him wasn’t his father; his father died with his mother. With that realisation, he closed his eyes to shed the first and last tear for Malcolm. 

“You will never complete your undertaking,” Slade shouted as he once again tried to get past Malcolm’s defences. Malcolm used this slight distraction to send Shado tumbling and grabbed Slade in a headlock, a loud crack filling the silence as Malcolm broke a bone in Slade’s arm and Slade’s sword clattered on the pavement unable to hold it with the pain. 

“I’ve won again,” Malcolm snarled. Oliver wasn’t even looking at Malcolm; he had locked eyes with Slade. His eyes widened when he saw the blink pattern for kill the son of a bitch and do whatever it takes followed by a discreet eye movement towards his chest. Slade being shorter than Malcolm meant that Malcolm’s heart was directly behind his shoulder. He wanted Oliver to shoot him to get Malcolm. Oliver didn’t think his arrows would be up for it; he knew both Malcolm and Slade were wearing body armour and so in a split second he dropped his bow, grabbed Lance’s gun and fired twice. 

Slade fell to his knees but Malcolm fell backwards and Tommy just knew that he was dead. That it was over. He barely registered Shado checking Malcolm’s pulse and smiling when she didn’t feel one. Or Oliver fussing over Slade and profusely apologising. Or Lance embracing him and not letting go. Or the tears that fell down his face as he realised it was over. He was still numb as they drove back to the Mansion, and when Felicity had told them she wiped all the records and that a League member had called to say they had picked up the body and would find a way to make his death a lot less suspicious than it would have been otherwise. He just sat there as Thea and Joe once finished with Oliver and Slade had curled up next to him. He finally resurfaced that night when he saw the concerned looks that everyone was giving him. 

“I didn’t even recognise him at the end. How could I not have seen the monster he had become? Is there something wrong with me?” Tommy asked terrified of the answer.   
“You’re not angry with us, not terrified of what I’ve become?” Oliver asked shocked. He had been sure he had lost Tommy when he had killed his father.   
“No, you were still Ollie, Slade was still Slade, Shado was still Shado and Detective Lance was still Detective Lance. Sure you got scary but I could still see you in there, my dad wasn’t though. I couldn’t recognise him,” Tommy said.   
“I couldn’t recognise Billy at the end. We all have darkness inside us, no one can change that. We can change the amount of light in us. Your dad, Billy, they got rid of their light and were left as shells, husks of the great men they were. Remember and honour those memories,” Slade told him.   
“There’s something that’s been bugging me,” Lance said.   
“What?” Oliver asked.   
‘Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Lance asked knowing that was an expert shot and he didn’t even take a second to line it up.   
“Slade doesn’t just like swords, and you don’t need as much strength to master the gun,” Oliver explained and rolled his eyes as Slade’s patented ‘I love swords’ grin surfaced.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty- Four: 

Five Years Later: 

Sara blushed as Barry kissed her on the cheek, put her favourite coffee cup filled to the brim with coffee on her desk and walked off to the forensics department. Sara didn’t like public displays of affection, even after all these years had past they still reminded her of the carefree girl who had cheated with Oliver Queen. She looked off into the distance as she remembered everything that had happened since; coming home, stopping the Undertaking, graduating the Academy, starting work as a Police Officer, her first awkward kiss with Barry since the Island behind the Police Station, and the next time they found themselves there, with Barry on one knee proposing. She smiled wider when remembering Slade recounting with glee how Barry had asked her dad, Slade, Oliver, Walter and funnily enough Shado for permission. Apparently Barry found her just as scary as the rest of them sometimes and thought it would be better to be safe than very sorry later. They were getting married in the spring, as they had to wait for Barry’s dad to get back from his holiday. 

Lance and Laurel, who had only recently graduated from Law School, spent months after the Undertaking going through evidence to try and free Barry’s dad. Laurel was the one to find a loophole when she requested the only bit of solid evidence the police had to find it had gone missing. Without the murder weapon, the only bit of evidence the police had to stand on was the coroner’s report. Laurel had that looked over by Starling’s coroner who testified in court saying the wounds described did not match that of a knife, making the report invalid. With that Laurel successfully won her first case and made headlines as Barry’s father walked free and was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars compensation. Lance still didn’t have the heart to tell her that ASIS had made the knife disappear and got her a nice judge with a high appeal granting rate to make the case winnable. After spending time with Barry, he confessed that he really wanted to go back to the spot in California where he had first met Barry’s mother to say his goodbyes that had been denied to him for over a decade. So that’s where he was currently. Barry’s father had been over the moon when Sara and Barry got engaged and had fit in with Sara’s slightly odd and extended family easily. 

Over the years, Thea and Joe grew as close as siblings and were inseparable. Raisa remarked on more than one occasion that it was history repeating itself, remembering how close Oliver and Tommy were growing up. But unlike Oliver and Tommy, Thea and Joe had excellent academic records, held black belts and were experts in swordsmanship and archery. Slade felt on many occasions his heart would actually burst with pride for his son. And neither Slade nor Oliver would admit that they shed some tears the nights Thea and Joe graduated. 

Shado had put the past behind her and focused on her future. She completed her college degree with very high grades and was now looking over the many grad programs she had already been sent offers for. Shado still respected the traditional medicine that had kept them alive on the Island and was working on synthesizing the plants into anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. Shado also did volunteer work every Saturday at Tommy’s mothers’ clinic in the Glades for no charge and had become something of a hero. And also somewhat feared after she single-handedly stopped three armed robbers from stealing much needed medicine from the pharmacy next door. 

Tommy had experienced a big life change since Malcolm had been dealt with. Tommy was now the CEO of Merlyn Global and was running it quite successfully with the help of Oliver and Slade. Walter had proved the best mentor they could have possibly had and still quite patiently walked them through complicated business dealings when they needed help. At Oliver’s insistence, Walter had remained CEO of Queen Consolidated. Oliver thought it would be a smart idea to try running Merlyn Global as a team first and then see about taking a bigger role in Queen Consolidated. Tommy just wanted to merge the two companies and be done with it, considering between the four of them they basically had joint leadership anyway. While both Queen Consolidated and Merlyn Global had taken some hits during the leadership changes, they were both now doing better than ever, and Oliver had worked hard and moving some of the international work back to Starling and Central City, creating almost a million jobs between the two cities. Because of this, unemployment was a thing of the past in the Glades, and the area was becoming more positive and safer. 

Even though it had pained Walter, he finally admitted to himself that his marriage was only one-sided and ended things with Moira. Moira had tried to take everything he had, stating he only had it because he married into the Queen name. Oliver and Laurel quickly put a stop to it in court and felt satisfied when they watched the Judge declare Moira unfit to have any say in the finances of the Queen family. ASIS had very covertly gone through Moira’s affairs and found enough evidence connecting her to the sabotage of the Queen’s Gambit that Moira was found guilty of the murder of Robert Queen and the seven members of the crew, as well as the attempted murder of Oliver Queen and Sara Lance. The judge grinned as he sentenced Moira to 10 years without parole in the worst low security mixed gender jail he could find, as her lawyer had tried to bribe him the day before the sentence with a list of suitable jails that someone of her standing would be able to tolerate. 

Lance walked past his daughter who was staring outside once again. She got lost in her thoughts sometimes, and he didn’t blame her. She had been through more than most people could take. He still had nightmares of when the bomb went off in Merlyn’s house and of when he heard the news that the Gambit sunk. Lance had recently been promoted to Captain and for the first time in the history of Starling City, crime was basically non-existent. Not that it would have anything to do with certain vigilantes of course. Lance looked at his phone as it buzzed and grinned at the message from Tommy, asking him what toppings he wanted on his pizza tonight. A week after they stopped Merlyn, neither Lance nor Tommy were coping well, and Slade had put his foot down and demanded the two of them move temporarily into the Mansion where they could be with family. Oliver had even given them the guilt factor saying that they had helped him through more nightmares than he wanted to admit too, and wanted to help them with theirs. The temporary move had turned permanent, though. Tommy decided to just demolish the Merlyn Manor and built apartment buildings that he charged tenants 5% of their weekly wage to live in. Tommy didn’t care about the money anymore he just wanted to help, something he should have started doing a long time ago. And so without a house, and already considering Queen Mansion home he decided to make it official. Lance, however, had only made the decision after long conversations with Sara. Sara still wasn’t comfortable leaving her Island family as she put it, but didn’t want to her dad to leave either, and while Lance knew it probably wasn’t healthy, he agreed to stay with her for as long as needed. 

Pulling his wallet out of his pocket for some change for the vending machine he noticed a $100 bill on one side of his wallet and smiled. After putting bets on with Slade discretely about it, Lance had won $100 when Tommy had stuttered his way through asking Laurel on a proper date giving her promises about how much he had changed. Laurel didn’t know everything that had happened, and Lance had made everyone swear she never would. The vigilantes had killed Malcolm, and Oliver had got hurt in a sparring session, and that was all she would ever know as far as Lance was concerned. Laurel still had a very black and white version of good versus evil and while he knew it would eventually change at the moment he was happy to keep her in the dark about how grey the rest of them were. Laurel had of course accepted, and Slade had queried to Oliver, who exactly he was going to give the threatening speech to as both were considered family, causing everyone to laugh lightening the mood. 

Lance continued musing as he munched on his chocolate bar as his mind went to the next relationship that was begun. Oliver had asked Felicity if she wanted to see the new Marvel movie with him and she looked up from the assignment she was helping Joe with and frowned remarking how much it sounded like he was asking her out on a date. Oliver said it was up to her, and she agreed it sounded like a date and she accepted. Lance had barely kept it together as Slade and Shado just shook their heads at how the kid’s pathetic attempt had actually worked. 

As Lance sat down, he looked at the massive canvas Thea had gifted him with when he was promoted to Captain. It was of the whole family as they had a picnic on the hill behind Queen’s Mansion. Thea had set up a camera to take a photo every 10 seconds for a project she was doing and then went through the photos afterwards and found this one, which he was sure deserved an award or prize. It showed Tommy teasingly trying to feed Laurel a bite of cake Oliver had made. Walter was sitting with his back against a tree with the newspaper in his hands but was looking with a smile towards Joe and Oliver, who were trying to sneak up on Slade with water balloons. Slade was playing battleship with Thea and had a look of utmost concentration on his face, while Thea was giggling at the man. Shado was talking with Lance and Sara in the photo, with a twinkle in her eyes as she watched Oliver and Joe. In the photo Lance was looking towards Sara though, missing out on watching the boys and the photo had captured a blinding smile he was giving his daughter. Barry, Felicity, and Roy were playing twister in the corner, and they all looked happy and carefree. Lance grinned as he thought of why Tommy had gone with pizza for tonight. He was trying to help Thea and Roy soften Oliver and Slade up with their current favourite food before they told them Thea was pregnant. Thea and Roy had told everyone else and they were all in agreeance that it would need a delicate group effort to let the two of them know, especially as it was just last week Oliver had threatened that Thea vomiting had better not be morning sickness, or Roy wouldn’t live to see the sunset with Slade agreeing. 

That night saw them sitting around the table with a nervous silence.   
“Just tell us what’s going on?” Oliver said, speaking for him and Slade. Roy looked paler than death and Barry was watching nervously as Sara had spoken to him on the way home from work about if he wanted kids. She had laughed when he replied that he would see if Roy lived through tonight first.   
“Oh for God’s sake, I’m pregnant Oliver,” Thea said, wanting it out in the open. Oliver and Slade sat silently for a minute, which might have been the longest minute Roy had ever gone through. Oliver grumbled as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a $100 note and handed it over to Slade.   
“Wait you had a bet going?” Roy exclaimed loudly, still shocked he was still alive.   
“Not on the pregnancy, we knew about that when you began whispering to the others and all the lingering glances towards Thea’s stomach. We had bets on who would tell us. I knew Thea would; the kid thought she would make you do it, though,” Slade explained. 

As conversation begun filling the room again, Oliver sat back and took some time to reflect. Who knew that his decision to get on the Queen’s Gambit with his girlfriend’s sister would have led him to this point. He was a hardened killer, an expert archer, and soon to be an uncle; he was in a serious relationship; and he had a family he loved unconditionally. And while it might not be the family he ever thought he would have, he wouldn’t change it for the world. It was perfect, and he was happy, something that he thought he would never feel again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey,   
> This may seem like the end of the Phoning Home Universe, but it's not. Uni is very stressful this year, and so I decided instead of writing many more chapters I would give you the summary in this chapter of what I had planned as the interlude before Ivo comes back in five years. I will take each of these ideas and make one shots or small fics out of them when I have the time. I am in no way abandoning this, I just can't keep my weekly update timeline at the moment.   
> So keep your subscription to this, I can't give you a date, but I WILL be adding to this when I have some time to myself.   
> Thanks,   
> Lisa


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty-Five: 

“Why do you look like a cat that just ate a canary?” Sara asked as she walked into the dining room taking her blazer off and hanging it on the back of the chair. Oliver snorted at the reference to canary and she noticed Barry sitting between Oliver and Slade. This couldn’t be good. She looked around slowly noticing all the grins encompassing everyone’s face. Everyone but Barry that is, he looked like the canary, who had just survived a near death experience to find himself facing another one. 

“Why don’t you sit down sweetie?” Lance offered, the grin not leaving his face. Even Laurel, who wasn’t usually here unless it was Sunday lunch, was here sitting on the other side of her father. Sara decided to play along, even though Barry had already proposed the day earlier behind the police station with a long speech that she had committed to memory. 

“Okay guys, seriously, what’s happened?” Sara asked, letting her short temper reach the end of its fuse. She decided to sit down though, thinking they might tell her quicker if she was sitting. She was hungry after all. 

“Barry asked us all here this afternoon. By all of us, I mean your father, Slade, Oliver, Walter and myself. He had something very special to ask us, you see,” Shado began explaining. 

“I’ve never seen anyone so pale. And I’ve seen the kid standing on a live landmine,” Slade added. 

“You see, Barry wanted everyone from your island family, your father and myself together to ask for permission,” Walter added. 

“What in the world do you need their permission for?” Sara asked obliviously. 

“Your hand,” Barry answered with a clear voice in complete contrast with the expression of clear terror on his face. Sara suspected it had something to do with Slade and Oliver. 

“My hand?” Sara asked confused and then understanding dawned on her.   
“My hand,” Sara repeated with awe, rewarding herself mentally for being such a good actor. She looked at Barry and only Barry, and realised she could happily spend the rest of her life married to him. She blushed slightly as she recalled all the small stolen moments and kisses the two of them had shared over the months. Barry got up and walked over to her, his hand reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box, perfectly sized to fit a ring in it. He got down on one knee in front of her. 

“The moment we met I hoped I found a friend. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would find someone to spend the rest of my life with. You’ve been through so much and your still the kindest and purest person I know and I would be honoured if you would marry me,” Barry told her, and once again she was only looking at Barry. Ever since the Island she had always forced herself to see everything, notice everything, it could be the difference between life and death. And here Barry was, taking up everything. He meant as much to her as living did and that was all she needed to know. This was a shortened version of yesterday’s speech, but Sara had begged him to do it in front of everyone because she knew what it would mean for them to be a part of it. Barry had agreed, and decided that they would pretend that it was the first time he proposed instead of ruining it for everyone. 

“Yes,” Sara said. Barry’s grin threatened to break his face as he put the ring on Sara’s finger. Slade and Oliver lead a round of the loudest applause possible, with Thea swearing that the glasses on the table were moving. As it slowly died, Sara realised something. 

“You asked Shado for permission,” Sara teased.   
“She’s just as scary as the rest of your friends,” Barry answered giving way to a round of laughter.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six:

 

_Lance and Laurel, who had only recently graduated from Law School, spent months after the Undertaking going through evidence to try and free Barry’s dad. Laurel was the one to find a loophole when she requested the only bit of solid evidence the police had to find it had gone missing. Without the murder weapon, the only bit of evidence the police had to stand on was the coroner’s report. Laurel had that looked over by Starling’s coroner who testified in court saying the wounds described did not match that of a knife, making the report invalid. With that Laurel successfully won her first case and made headlines as Barry’s father walked free and was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars compensation. Lance still didn’t have the heart to tell her that ASIS had made the knife disappear and got her a nice judge with a high appeal granting rate to make the case winnable. After spending time with Barry, he confessed that he really wanted to go back to the spot in California where he had first met Barry’s mother to say his goodbyes that had been denied to him for over a decade. So that’s where he was currently. Barry’s father had been over the moon when Sara and Barry got engaged and had fit in with Sara’s slightly odd and extended family easily._

“I have something!” Laurel exclaimed excitedly waving around a piece of paper as she rushed into the Queen Mansion.

“Really?” Barry asked hopefully, squeezing Sara’s hand tightly.

“I requested to see the only bit of evidence they had. The knife went missing. And without the murder weapon in Police possession the only concrete evidence they have to tie your father to the crime is the coroner’s report. I’ve just been to the current coroner, who as a favour took a look at the report for me and the wounds described in the court documents don’t match the ones in the coroner’s report. Barry, we can take this to court and get your dad out,” Laurel said.

“I have some money saved up, but I’m not sure if it is enough for court costs,” Barry said, feeling like a failure for not being able to get to court faster.

“Do what you need to do Laurel, I’ll cover the costs,” Oliver said.

“Oliver, you don’t have to do this,” Barry began.

“You’ve been apart from your dad for far too long, I would give anything for another day with mine but that’s not going to happen, at least let me make sure you can have more time with yours,” Oliver said with a no nonsense tone and then returned to the pile of Lego in front of him, Joe and Thea. They were building a R2-D2 and it was coming together nicely.

 

Laurel successfully won her first case with her family and friends watching proudly and they all shared a laugh as Barry leapt over the small gate separating the public to embrace his father. Lance tried to hide his evasiveness but Slade noticed and went to stand next to the man.

“What did you do?” Slade asked quietly.

“I rang ASIS, used this new found partnership of ours to ask for a favour,” Lance said, hoping the man would drop it.

“The knife?” Slade guessed. Lance rolled his eyes at his own stupidity; of course Slade would have guessed what happened.

“Yep, and the Judge,” Lance said coming clean. Slade gave a low whistle, impressed with Lance; he had covered all the bases.

“I won’t tell anyone. You did a good thing here; I don’t think I have ever seen Barry so happy. Or Laurel. You helped free a man who should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” Slade told him.

“That’s what ASIS said, told me that I didn’t owe them nothing, that fixing stupid International mistakes is their favourite past time,” Lance said. Slade snorted and shrugged, in agreeance with the spy organisation.

 

Two weeks later, Barry walked in late once again for Sunday lunch. Everyone could clearly see he had been crying and they all looked towards Slade and Lance to take action. Slade got up first, clearly seeing for the first time just how small Barry was, and was reminded of Oliver when they first met. Slade gently led him away from the others into the foyer.

“What’s happened?” Slade asked gently.

“Dad left, he’s gone to California. Where he met Mum to say his goodbyes and then he’s going to travel,” Barry explained. Slade didn’t care about the rest of it, he only heard the first two words and silently cursed Henry Allen with every word he knew, in every language he knew. After being absent from Joe’s life for so long, Slade could barely let him out of his sight for school let alone days or months.

“It’s just, since he was locked up I used to create all these great scenarios in my head. What we would do when he got out, where we would go, I never imagined once he was free that it would still be me alone. Doesn’t he want to be with me? Is it me?” Barry asked brokenly. Slade’s heart throbbed, not that he would ever admit it, for Barry.

“I can’t speak for your father. But every single day I was trapped on Lian Yu, I did something similar to what you did as a child. I would think about what I could be doing with Joe at that very moment, what we would do when I got home. And I know Joe was doing the same thing in Australia. Oliver also did the same when he was on the Island. So there is nothing wrong with you Barry Allen. Don’t you ever think that. Your dad has been through a lot, and I’m not making excuses for him, because I don’t agree with what he’s doing, but maybe he needs to do this first before he can come back here. I don’t know, but I do know this. You have me, you have us. We will be right here whenever you need us. As the kid keeps saying, you can choose family,” Slade told him.

 

Barry just looked at the man, and wished for a moment that Henry Allen had come out prison a bit more like Slade. Without the scary bits of course. He had enjoyed having his father around for the past two weeks. He had introduced Sara properly to him, his father was so happy about the engagement and promised to be back for the wedding. He had also introduced him to Sara’s family, in its entirety, leaving Henry with many questions about the odd family. But because Barry was happy, he was happy, and while Barry was slightly angry at him for leaving so soon after he had come back, he still loved his father and was happy for him.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter Forty-Seven: 

Over the years, Thea and Joe grew as close as siblings and were inseparable. Raisa remarked on more than one occasion that it was history repeating itself, remembering how close Oliver and Tommy were growing up. But unlike Oliver and Tommy, Thea and Joe had excellent academic records, held black belts and were experts in swordsmanship and archery. Slade felt on many occasions his heart would actually burst with pride for his son. And neither Slade nor Oliver would admit that they shed some tears the nights Thea and Joe graduated. 

Tommy froze as Deja-vu hit watching Joe and Thea playing in the pool, remembering the many afternoons that he and Oliver had spent doing the exact same things. He didn’t even notice Raisa come up behind him. 

“They remind me of Mr. Oliver and you, when younger. Peas in a pod, just like the two of you,” Raisa remarked causing Tommy to jump slightly in surprise.   
“I never really made the connection before now,” Tommy admitted but was now met with memories of the many occasions Joe and Thea had mirrored Oliver and his behaviour. The times when the two of them finished the others sentence, the pranks, the misbehaviour, he was just glad none of them had decided to venture into the world of alcohol, drugs and parties yet. Not that they would ever, with Slade, Shado and Detective Lance around. Malcolm and Robert had been largely absent or irresponsible fathers, leaving Oliver and Tommy to make the stupidest of choices partly due to a lack of guidance. Thea and Joe, while given many freedoms, were watched constantly, not that they cared as they had nothing to hide. Tommy wished for the millionth time he had someone like that when he was growing up. 

“What are you watching?” Lance said coming up behind Tommy, Raisa discreetly leaving the room to leave the two men to talk.   
“How similar Thea and Joe are to Ollie and me when we were their age,” Tommy explained. Lance followed Tommy’s gaze and smiled softly.   
“Thinking how much has changed since you were their age?” Lance guessed. Tommy nodded.   
“While you and Oliver might have been destructive and out of control at their age, you had your reasons. And you paid the price for your actions. Remember the old couple?” Lance said. 

Tommy nodded and remembered when he and Ollie were only a few months older than Thea was currently, they had gone joy riding in Malcolm’s sports car. They had ended up crashing into a fence belonging to an old couple, that were thankfully not home at the time, but at the cinemas. Oliver had listened to his dad and simply let the lawyers talk, but Tommy had butted in when his lawyer was getting him out of charges at the Police Station. He paid, with money from his trust fund, to fix the fence and pay for any gardening services to fix the tyre marks they had left. He also asked to speak to the couple and apologise. Lance offered to take him, as he had to inform them that Oliver and Tommy were not to be charged and to remove the tape surrounding the sight of the crash. When Tommy had started to apologise to the couple they had not taken it well in the slightest. 

Even Lance was surprised at the level of verbal abuse that was thrown at Tommy for apologising. The kid had not listened to his lawyer and was paying for everything, going so far as to replace the entire fence and redoing the gardens with instructions to the gardening company to do whatever the couple asked for, whatever the cost. If Tommy had listened, like Oliver did, then the couple would have gotten nothing and would have had to pay to fix the damage themselves. Lance has driven past a week later on the way to respond to a call and noticed the brand new fence and landscaping, and smiled. 

“I sent them vouchers and gifts for years, every Christmas. Never signed them or let them know it was me, but I made sure they were comfortable,” Tommy admitted. Lance’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then smiled. As much as he ranted and raved when they were teenagers, he did know they were good kids, and had become even better adults.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to everyone, and to celebrate here is the final chapter of Phoning Home. Thank you to everyone who has read, liked and commented over the months. I’ll be working on something new, in the Arrowverse soon.

Chapter Forty-Eight: 

Walter offered Shado a glass of champagne with a grin as she took in the decorations that filled the ballroom of the latest charity gala they had been invited too. Shado declined with a small shake of her head, wondering for the millionth time how Slade had managed to weasel his way out of yet another gathering and she couldn’t. Tommy and Oliver were working the crowds expertly and she had excused herself very quickly from the conversations and had found some quiet by Walter’s side. 

Walter had lost many friends when he ended his marriage to Moira, and more again when she lost in court and Walter remained CEO of Queen’s Consolidated. He often joked about it, but Shado could see how much it hurt him when people he had probably been friends with for years, snubbed their noses into the air and strode past Walter. She had offered earlier to give them a piece of their mind but Walter had declined, not wanting to cause a scene or damage Shado’s early career as a doctor. Shado was still considering calling Slade and having him come down here, Slade didn’t give any thought to how other people viewed him unless he considered them family and would happily give them a piece of his mind.

Tommy sighed as he finally had a minute to himself, without anyone bugging him into another conversation of mindless chatter and immediately spotted Shado and Walter standing off to the side, with Shado glaring daggers at the crowd. Making his way quickly over to the pair, he noticed the look a couple gave Walter as they walked by and Shado’s mood suddenly made a lot of sense. 

“Has this been going on all night?” Tommy asked quietly as the put a hand on Walter’s shoulder to show his support.   
“People can be fickle, I suppose,” Walter answered while Shado nodded to answer Tommy’s question bluntly. Tommy thought it over and then decided on what he thought the best course of action to take.   
“Oliver!” Tommy shouted. Oliver looked over, quickly excused himself and hurried to join Tommy, Shado and Walter.   
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked.   
“We’re leaving,” Tommy told him, making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard by the majority of the people listening. And with that Tommy took Shado’s hand and lead her out of the room, knowing that Oliver and Walter would be following. 

“Tomorrow’s Christmas, and I’m not spending Christmas Eve with a bunch of busy bodies ignoring and snubbing Walter. We can send a check to the charity after the holidays, but I want to spend the rest of Christmas Eve with family,” Tommy announced.   
“Sounds like a plan,” Oliver said with a smile, looking out the window to the shaping of a white Christmas, one he would be able to enjoy. 

“I hate snow,” Slade said in way of greeting as the four entered the house. Oliver and Shado rolled their eyes and continued to walk past the grumpy man.   
“See how much they care Joe? What I had to put up with on the Island everyday” Slade whined.   
“You do this every time it snows. And you’re not going to stop until all the snow has melted. You hate the snow, everyone knows this.” Oliver told him. Slade huffed and walked off muttering about the horribleness of snow.   
“Why does he hate snow so much still, it’s been over 5 years now?” Tommy asked.   
“And yet it still seems like yesterday in our heads. The memories as fresh as they were when we made them,” Shado explained.   
“The winters were the worst. Snow storms that would keep us trapped for days. We would have to abandon the fuselage the second the signs of winter showed. We would go into the deepest cave and start storing fire wood and food. We would always have a large store of tree roots to eat that we swore we would never touch, and yet we would always have too. We’d starve and spend almost every hour of the day sleeping because we wouldn’t have the energy to do anything else. Slade would always do it the worst though. He would huddle us as far back as possible and put his back to the opening of the cave. He would feed us first and have the leftovers. He would be the one to go out into the cold to get snow for drinking water. His ribs would always be the first to show and the last to disappear again after winter had ended. Slade has reason enough to hate snow, for with it resurfaced the memories that came with it on the Island.” Oliver said quietly, Shado walking over to hold his hand while he talked.   
“So much can change in our lives, but the past will always be there,” Walter added thinking of the gala.   
“But we can’t be so focused on the past that we forget about what is happening in the present,” Tommy continued, remembering visiting his parents graves a few days earlier to clean them up and lay fresh flowers for Christmas.   
“Let’s make snowmen tomorrow, create some good memories of snow to start balancing out the bad ones,” Oliver suggested, knowing it would take a lot of convincing to get Slade outside for any length of time.


End file.
